Mass Effect: Synthetic Intentions
by SwordsmanofS
Summary: AU The Council knew full well that when they asked Takashi Shepard to be a Spectre, they were trading one Saren for another. Hopefully this one stays loyal.
1. Chapter 1

Authors Note: What I wanted to do with this story is show a Shepard story done in the fashion of the novels; the distinctive fell off them. The best part of Mass Effect to me was the time investigating Saren, especially on the Citadel. It reminded me of the books, and inspired this story. I want to show a story of Shepard as a Spectre as Saren was in Revelation. That detective feel. So here we go.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything here. It all belongs to Bioware.

Prologue 1: What Is Past Is Prologue

"One minute till Relay synchronization".

I tuned out Flight Lieutenant Jeff 'Joker' Moreau's voice as I watched the Normandy glide effortlessly through space. I had more important things on my mind. Like the turian Spectre Nihlus Kryik who choose to grace our ship.

Officially, Nihlus was here to oversee the Normandy's shakedown run. But I knew he was really interested in only one thing: me. Our conversation two months ago was proof of this.

He wanted me to become a Spectre. Him and his Council masters.

Their interest in me is in some ways unsurprising. I was without a doubt the most powerful biotic humanity had. That's not me bragging, that's fact. When the Alliance discovered me, they were shocked to see a human with enough raw biotic power to match even the fabled asari Matriarchs. But this wasn't the reason the Council acted on their interest.

I was quite the master gun fighter. Pistols, rifles, you name it. I could drill fools between the eyes from a mile away. But this still wasn't the reason they approached me.

No, the real reason they wanted me was something far more… insidious.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

As I began my trek toward the Normandy's flight bridge, my thoughts turned to my early childhood- if you could call it that.

While I can't really remember much, I know enough to glean that my background is pretty much the same as any other orphan growing up in Sky Tokyo. Or rather, any orphan that was different than the normal Japanese status-quo.

While technology and medicine have come a long way in the twenty second century, it can only do so much. When I came out of my mother's womb, I can only imagine the looks on the faces of doctors present. Seeing a natural born albino isn't something all too common these days. While they may have eliminated the medical problems associated with albinos- such as nearsightedness and skin problems- they didn't take away my red eyes, my colorless skin or my white hair. I wonder if that was a decision on my mother's part.

I know very little about my parents. I know my mother was full blood Japanese, and by my facial features, it's safe to assume that my father was probably of European origin. My looks settled somewhere in between the two, a common thing in the multi-cultural society we live I today. And from what I remember of my mother, she was very beautiful- which explained my looks- though that may just be child bias. Despite this, my father was not in our lives.

Even still my mother raised me as best she could. I can still remember her holding me during the summer nights, with all the tenderness and affection a mother could have.

"You're my little treasure Taka-Chan" she would say. This must have garnered something of reaction from me, as after words she would say: "You love Mama too, don't you?"

Did I love her? Maybe I did. Not that it matters now.

I haven't really felt love or affection since then. I haven't felt mostly _any_ emotion since then. Not since my mother was killed when I was four, leaving me to face the world alone. Leaving me with just instinct and impulses.

But as I came upon the Normandy's bridge I decided to put such thoughts behind me. I had a job to do, and my mother didn't mean anything anymore.

As I came upon the bridge, I found it occupied by five people, Nihlus among them. I stopped next to him, and he gave me a nod of in the way of greeting before turning his attention back towards the Normandy's pilot, Joker.

"Fifteen hundred is good. You're Captain will be pleased" was he said before turning around and walking back out of the fight deck.

The moment he was gone however, Joker turned around and shot a look of disgust to where the turian once stood. "I hate that guy" he spat.

Joker was usually rather tolerant of others, aliens included. Not surprising considering his crippled status. That he seemed to dislike like Nihlus was enough to make me disregard remanding him from taking his eyes off the pilot console. _Curious._

The occupant of the seat next to him, Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, seemed to share my sentiment. "Nihlus gave you a compliment" he said, while keeping his eyes on his console. "So you hate him?"

"You remember to zip up your jumpsuit on your way out of the bathroom, that's good" Joker said with fire in his voice as he turned his attention to Alenko. "I just managed to jump us halfway across the galaxy and hit the target the size of a pinhead, so that's incredible!"

_Well that explains it,_ I thought. Joker took great pride in his piloting skills. Still, to take offence at something so trivial to the point of distraction was in my view very unprofessional. However, since he was normally competent, I'll choose to let it side. For now.

"Besides" Joker continued, "Spectre's are trouble. I don't like having them onboard. Call me paranoid."

"Your paranoid" Alenko replied. "The Council helped fund this project; they have a right to send someone to keep an eye on their investment."

Joker apparently found that ludicrous. "Yeah, that's the official story. But only an idiot believes the official story."

This was true enough. The Council was interested in me, but why choose the Normandy's shakedown run as the 'mission' to observe me? There was something going on behind the scenes. Still…

As Alenko turned to refute Joker's statement, I choose to make my presence known. I had enough of this childish nonsense. "That's enough" I said in my apathetic voice. "Your soldiers, act like it."

My skin isn't the only thing about me that's toneless. My sharp retort was enough to make both officers backs straighten.

"Sorry Commander" both replied. With that settled, silence took hold of the bridge. At least for a few seconds, until Captain Anderson's voice rang out over the intercom.

"Joker!" the voice called out, "Status report."

"We just hit the Mass Relay Captain" Joker answered. "Stealth systems engaged; everything looks solid."

"Good. Link us into the Comm. Buoy and link us into the network. I want all mission reports relayed back to Alliance brass before we reach Eden Prime."

"Aye aye Captain" Joker replied. Then he got a sly look on his face. "You better brace yourself sir, I think Nihlus is headed your way."

"He's already hear Lieutenant" came Captain Andersons deadpan reply. This revelation caused Joker's smile to turn into a look of embarrassment. Alenko snickered. I just stood there with an indifferent look on my face.

_Fool._

"Tell Commander Shepard to meet me in the Comm. Room" Anderson finished, before ending the call.

Joker turned toward me, but I was already walking away the moment I heard the Captain needed me. I did manage to catch one last thing as I walked away.

"Why are both of our senior officer's major jackasses?"

As I moved towards the comm. room, the other occupants of the Normandy were a buzz with gossip. Apparently, they all shared Jokers misgivings about this mission. Despite my reprimand, Joker was right. Something big was about to happen.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

When I arrived to the comm. room, standing outside were two Alliance personnel I wasn't all too familiar with: Corporal Richard Jenkins, and Dr Chakwas. I didn't know Dr Chakwas until a few hours ago, on the account of us being in two different fields. And I wasn't familiar with Jenkins mainly because he was new to special ops.

I had worked with Alenko and Captain Anderson for a couple of months now. As Alliance SAS, the brass made liberal use of our talents in the Skyllian Verge against pirates and other such low lives. When Captain Anderson was given command of the Normandy, he immediately brought me and Alenko along, choosing me to be Executive Officer. It was a logical decision; outside of the regular Alliance Marine ship bodyguards, the Normandy had little in terms of offensive man power. A few SAS officers with actual combat experience would be invaluable.

But Jenkins was green. Where as Captain Anderson and I are N7, and Alenko an N6, Jenkins was a lowly N1.

Normally, numerical ranks were determined by proficiency. But in special ops, numerical ranks were based on that _and_ experience and success rate. That Jenkins had only a 1 attached to his alphabetic designator showed just how new he was to this.

I already dislike working in groups. That some wet behind the ears Corporal would be joining us just made it worse. But I wouldn't show my… dissatisfaction. I wasn't going to look out for the young Corporal. If he was smart, he'd survive. If not, he was likely to get gunned down rather quickly. I'd seen it happen often enough.

"Hey Commander" Jenkins greeted as came upon them. "Nihlus is inside waiting for you."

I nodded my acknowledgment and went inside. Nihlus stood alone with his back turned to me.

"Commander Shepard" he turned and greeted. "Its good you got hear first. I have something to discuss with you."

"Am I to assume its Spectre Business?" I inquired.

He nodded.

Officially, the High Alliance brass was told that the Council wanted one of their own to join their ranks of the Spectres a month ago. This came as a shock to them, as they had given up trying to get one of their lapdog soldiers accepted into the Spectres years ago. However, they readily agreed, happy to accept the request.

Imagine their surprise when they found out that the one the Council wanted was Takashi Shepard, perhaps the most unruly and renegade soldier they had. Many aliens would laugh at that little irony.

It was that factor that set me apart from all the other previous human 'candidates'. They were 'Alliance poster boys'. They were loyal to the Alliance. I did what I wanted to, regardless of what my superiors wanted. Being in the Alliance Military meant nothing to me.

_That _was the deciding factor as to who became a Spectre. All Spectres had the will to turn on their own governments and species when the situation called for it. Combat prowess is all well and good, but unless there is a powerful will behind it, one wouldn't last a week in the Spectres.

Regardless, I found out about the Council's interest a month before the Alliance did. I was on shore leave on Elysium, when Nihlus discreetly approached me. I knew he was a Spectre immediately. Not only did I know his reputation, I could tell just by the way he carried himself. It's a Spectre thing.

He told me how the Council had been looking at me for years. That they wanted me to join them. The Councils offer: a rank as an agent of the Spectres. The cost: my rank in the Alliance Military and forfeiture of my Alliance citizenship. He gave me a week to think about it. I agreed the next day. In response, Nihlus instructed me to keep this to myself, until the Council came to the Alliance officially.

That isn't to say that that was my only encounter with Nihlus before now. For the past month, on my down time, I had been assisting Nihlus on several of his missions, as a way of proving to him that the Councils interest was justified. Considering they contacted the Alliance, it would seem I succeeded. Regardless, my Alliance superiors choose to remain tight lipped about the whole matter to me. Not that I cared.

I was more surprised that they agreed to hand me over. My skill in biotics and combat ability are the only things that allow me to bend the rules. I'm a powerful a weapon that they can exploit, so I can only assume they don't know about the whole 'forfeiture of citizenship' clause. If they did, I doubt they would be so willing to hand me over. I'm in no rush to enlighten them.

"This is the last mission you and I will be going on together Shepard" Nihlus said. "Do well, and your Spectre status is guaranteed."

"So what is the real mission?" I asked. "I doubt after all we've been through, this is the deciding factor."

"Real mission?" Nihlus parroted. "That discussion is best left for when your Captain arrives."

A sound of the door opening came after he finished his statement, and Captain David Anderson made his appearance.

"I think its time we told the Commander what's really going on" he said without preamble.

Nihlus adopted a strange smile on his face. "This mission is far more than just a simple shakedown run."

I didn't share his joke. "Truly?"

"Were making a covert pick up on Eden Prime" Captain Anderson explained. "That's why we had the stealth systems activated."

"What's the payload Captain?" I asked. Finally, we could get to what this was really all about.

Captain Anderson didn't answer immediately. Instead he put his hands behind his back and began pacing back and forth. It was a sign I recognized as a symptom of nervousness from him. That really spiked my interest. There wasn't much that could rattle Captain David Anderson. Its part of the reason I respect him so much.

"An excavation team on Eden Prime unearthed some kind of beacon on the surface." Captain Anderson paused, as if unsure how to continue. "It was Prothean" he finished.

Though my eyes and facial expression didn't change, my eyebrows went up, as close as an expression of shock you'll get from me. "They found Prothean technology on Eden Prime? And a beacon at that?"

"No" Nihlus replied. "They found _working _Prothean technology on Eden Prime."

My mind raced with the possibilities and implications of all this. _Oh dear._

Anderson was right on Nihlus' coattails. "I'm sure you can see how big this is. Not to mention the reason we have the stealth systems active."

I sure could see how big this was. A Prothean beacon was hinted at in obscure texts relating to the Protheans, but was never found. But now that one was discovered… who knew what secrets it held. The last time the known space faring species found something like this; it jumped their technology forward several hundred years. The knowledge of the beacon could literally be priceless.

But that also brought up other problems. Eden Prime was dangerously close to the Terminus Systems. The Terminus was a lawless chunk of space, united only by their hatred and rejection of Citadel government. Many their held no love for humans. If knowledge of the beacon got out, fell into the wrong hands…

"The Terminus can't be allowed to know about this."

Anderson and Nihlus nodded in agreement. "We go in quiet" Anderson began, "pick up the beacon, and sneak back out. Quick and silent." He paused. "There's one more thing Commander. Nihlus isn't just here to assist the mission. He's here to evaluate you."

My answer was short and to the point. "I know." At Anderson's surprised look, I explained. "I've known for a while. Navy grapevine and such." That was a half truth, but Anderson didn't need to know the whole story.

"…I see" was Anderson's only reply. "Well-

"Capitan!" Joker's voice over the intercom started us all. Well, as startled as men like us could get.

"What's wrong Joker?" Captain Anderson replied.

"Transmission from Eden Prime sir! You better see this!"

As the message played on the communications screen, I realized this mission just got infinitely more complex.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Twenty minuets later, Anderson, Nihlus and I stood alone in the ship's cargo bay.

While Anderson remained in his captains' uniform, Nihlus and I were dressed for battle. Nihlus sported black and red armor, with all manner of weapons on his person. As for me, I went with my standard black-ops gear. The only way to describe it was to call it a metallic light grey ninja suit. At my sides were two Hahne-Kedar pistols. On my back was an assault rifle and sniper rifle respectively. I needed nothing else; my biotics made up for anything else.

The mission was simple: Nihlus and I would be dropped off at different drop points, and from there we would make our way to the beacon. We would be going in hot. The reason was apparent.

Eden Prime burned. From its initial scan, the Normandy had picked up images of Eden Prime's capital city Constant in flames. Eden Prime was obviously under attack, and it didn't take a genius to figure out why. It had to be about the beacon, why else would someone attack this place. Eden Prime was an agricultural world, filled with farmers and other organic professions. While it was know as paradise in terms of land and terrain, there was nothing else here.

The three of us stood silently in the cargo bay, waiting for the doors to open. Nothing was said; nothing needed to be said. We were all professionals here. But even still, there was tension in the air. I had a bad 'feeling' about this mission, and I'm sure my turian compatriot felt the same. There was a lot riding on our shoulders. Just then the bay doors opened. We reached drop point one.

Nihlus stepped forward. "Let's keep our radio transmissions minimal" he said to me. "We don't know who were fighting here." I only raised an eyebrow in response.

"Yeah, you know how talkative I am."

Nihlus only smiled before running forward and jumping out the ship. A few seconds later we reached drop point two, my stop. As I began to move forward, Anderson called out to me.

"Good luck Takashi" he said. "God be with you." I gave him a thumbs up, which contrasted horribly with my indifferent facial expression. Nonetheless, it got the message across. I ran forward, jumped out, and began the mission that would be marked as the beginning to the fates of many.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

The moment my feet hit the ground, I whipped out my N457 Tactical Assault Rifle. As per the mission, Nihlus and I had been dropped outside the city limits. While the Normandy was state of the art in terms of technological stealth, a visual scan would pick it up with no problem. Thus, we couldn't be dropped in too close to the 'hot zones'. We would have to make are way in on foot. I lifted my left arm and checked my omni tool. Nihlus and I already knew where the excavation site was, and we agreed before hand to meet up there. Gaining a sense of direction, I raised my rifle and made my way forward.

A few minutes in and I began to get the sense something was wrong. The path I was taking was thru a park/wildlife preserve, and during this time of day, there should have been people here when the attack started. But that was the strange thing; while there were blood stains all over the ground, there were no bodies. Anywhere.

_What kind of person kills everything in its path, but then stops to gather up bodies? What kind of enemy are we facing?_

After twenty minuets of running thru the forested area, I had my answer. A low mechanical hum was all the warning I had before someone opened fire on me. My combat honed reflexes kicked in immediately.

I rolled out of the way and found cover behind a large rock as the shot hit the grounds were I previously was. From my left side I peeked out to see who fired. Three bipedal targets were advancing forward, guns raised. They must have thought I was an unarmed civilian; they were moving out of cover rather carelessly. I would repay them for their foolishness. I raised my N457.

The N4 fired three four round bursts. With the silencer attached to my gun, the fools never saw or heard it coming. The ultrasonic slugs ripped right thru their energy shields and slammed into their heads. They came apart like melons. Three shots, three kills.

Consulting my radar, I made sure no one else was here before I made my way to my fallen victims. It was then that I got another shock to the system. The bipeds were synthetics. Or to be more specific, they were Geth.

_What in God's holy name are Geth doing here? They haven't been seen outside the Perseus Veil in over three hundred years._

The answer came quickly: they must have been here for the beacon. That would explain the strange ship seen in the emergency transmission. I wouldn't have thought it possible, but the mission became even more complicated.

I shook my head and moved on. Geth or no, I had a beacon to find.

The next few minuets were spent moving thru the brush instead of walking down the path. This time, I would have surprise on my side. The few geth patrols in the area were silently mowed down from a distance by my N4. Despite being artificial intelligences, they didn't have a firm grasp of modern tactics. Indeed, they seemed more like gun wielding animals. Standing out in the open, careless as all get out. The first geth patrol was lucky enough to spot me first that they got shots off before I did. Their compatriots weren't so fortunate, and I made them pay for it.

Still, when I gunned down the larger patrols, my systems didn't detect any radio activity from the geth. In other words, they didn't call for backup, or send word of warning to the main force.

I felt like I was walking into a trap.

As I emerged out of the wilderness and moved down a residential countryside, using the local houses and barns for cover, the trap sprung.

My heads-up radar on my omni tool showed no more than forty hostile contacts. But I didn't need that to see the full scope of the geth trap. Most of the geth choose to pop out in the open to open fire, while a small few choose to us the surrounding buildings as cover. If I were an ordinary soldier, my chances would be slim. But I had biotics on my side, and powerful ones at that.

Just before the geth opened fire, I created a mass effect field at my feet. When they did open fire, I had already telekinetically propelled my self to the top of a nearby street light. Before the geth could gather them selves, I acted. Holding out my arm, I used telekinetics to lift twenty of the exposed machines in the air. With a casual downward flick of my wrist, I brought them back down to earth with devastating force. Their bodies shattered on impact. That was half their strike force.

Twenty left.

The remaining geth got a bead on me and opened fire again, but the result was the same; I had already jumped away. While I was in mid fight, I switched my rifle for one of the pistols at my side. Using my own natural skill and the pistols 'smart targeting system', I opened fire on four exposed geth. These geth didn't have kinetic barriers, and with ten shots I felled them all before landing with cat like grace.

Sixteen left.

Directly across from were five geth taking cover in a barn trying to find cover. That wouldn't save them. With my left arm, I gathered dark energy, and with a sharp thrust, sent it hurling towards the barn. The effect was instantaneous. The ban looked as if a hurricane gale just slammed into it. What parts hadn't been crushed on impact were sent flying backwards. Among them were pieces of the four geth who tried to take cover.

Twelve left.

Two snipers who had taken up position in two local residential houses used the opportunity to try and line up a sight. I would have none of that. I telekinetically lifted them out of their positions and sent them slamming into each other. I let their sad remains fall to the earth.

Ten left.

The remaining geth let loose a barrage of desperation fire. None of it came close to hitting me; even though I was out of cover. It was surreal how terrible these synthetics could shot. Holstering my pistol, I held my arms in front me. I won't get explain all that was involved in my next attack, but it's enough to say that I used rapidly shifting mass effect fields to create friction around my hands.

And out came several bolts of lightning. The geth never had a chance to react; the energy ripping their bodies to pieces.

Zero left. I was standing in the midst of a scrap yard. I didn't gloat over my victory; I simply drew my N4 and continued on.

As I moved forward, I could help but think about how utterly… inefficient these geth were. My animals with guns statement seemed to be truer than I thought. Just how had these clowns defeated the local Alliance Marine garrisons?

My thoughts were cut short as I heard gunfire up ahead. Reading my rifle, I moved forward.


	2. The Army of Two

Here's part two. From now on in, the story will be told from third person perspective, unlike the prologue.

Disclaimer: I still don't own a thing you see here.

Chapter Two: The Army of two  


* * *

It would not be incorrect to say that Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams was going though what many would call a 'shitstorm'. Getting shot at by a group of synthetic invaders would certainly qualify. It was amazing how quickly things changed.

It all started a few days ago. Things couldn't have been more normal; farmers farmed, kids went to school, hard working adults went to their jobs, and scientists… did whatever scientists did. It was the same as it always was on Eden Prime. There was very little for a marine to do other than practice shooting.

Then they dug up that Prothean beacon, and everything went chaotic.

Suddenly everybody and their second cousin claimed to be some kind of expert on Prothean technology and tried to get their grubby hands on the beacon. Things got so bad that Constant sent out several marine deployments to keep away undesirable elements from the beacon. It was a change of pace Ashley welcomed whole heartedly.

Then the geth showed up, and everything went down the shit tubes.

She remembered sitting in the barracks with Nirali Bhatai when the attack happened. People were suddenly screaming and shouting 'There's something in the sky!' Ashley didn't get to find out what was in the sky; for as soon as she was geared for battle, a sudden high pitched... sound... rang out in her head. The pain was unimaginable, and in a few seconds, she found herself slipping into unconsciousness. When she awoke a few hours later, she found herself wishing that she stayed unconsciousness.

The area around the dig site looked very much like the battleground it was. There were corpses everywhere, both marine and what appeared to be synthetics. To her horror, all of the bodies of the marines were those of her regiment, the 212. She never even got to gain her bearings, for soon the remaining synthetics opened fire on her position. She was out gunned and out manned by such a large margin that she had only one option: retreat.

Making sure her flank was secure, she began to move as quickly as she could away from the dig site, using the surrounding environment as cover. As much as she wanted to make these synthetic assholes pay for what they did to her fellow marines, staying here would only get her killed. She had to get to safety, and try to hook up with any surviving marines. Hopefully someone high ranking had survived; surely they would know to do.

Her musings were broken when she realized that she wasn't being followed. It only took her a second to think of a reason why.

_The beacon! They want the beacon!_

It wasn't all that difficult to assume that the synthetics weren't all that overly concerned about one surviving marine when a prize like the Prothean beacon was at hand. Things just went from bad to worst.

Now that she was out of immediate danger, Ashley crouched behind a large group of rocks and tried to open up a com on any of the marine radio links. Unsurprisingly, they were silent. That either meant that com's were down because of the attack, or because there weren't any marines left to keep them open. Maybe both.

Ashley shook her head; such thoughts wouldn't help her out of this mess. As she lifted her Hahne-Kedar heavy assault rifle, she prepared to move out. She took one step out of cover... only to find herself facing two squads of the invading synthetic assholes. _Shit!_ She dove back into cover, just as gunfire erupted all around her.

As Ashley took a few calming breaths, she ran the implications of what just happened. The synthetics had managed to sneak up on her without showing up on her helmets radar display. They must have some kind of radar cloaking technology. That meant she was going to have to fight relying on her eyesight alone, without the tactical advantages of radar's enemy position system. _God give me strength_ she thought.

She stuck her rifle out and fired a few short bursts to her left. She wasn't trying to hit anything, just force the robots to take cover and stop shooting at her. When the enemy fire stopped, she took her chance. This time exposing her head and shoulders, she brought the weapons sight up to eye level and fired. She managed to get in enough shots to overpower two of the robots shields and take them down, while the remaining two of the robot's squad dove for cover behind a few concrete blocks. For a moment Ashley felt satisfaction at taking two of the bastards down, but that soon gave way to a disturbing piece of insight: there were eight synthetics that ambushed her, yet all she saw were the four before her.

_Where the hell are the other four?_

The answer came when a sudden movement to her right caught her attention. Two of the remaining six robots had flanked her when she took her chance to return fire, and now they had her dead to rights. She was exposed to them, they had their weapons trained on her, and her own rifle wasn't even pointing in their direction. It was a proverbial turkey shoot.

_No, _she thought. _NO! _It couldn't end like this! Not like this! Then it happened.

There was a muffled pair of sounds, but instead of coming from the robot's rifles, it came from behind her. And then the two synthetics heads exploded in a shower of sparks and weird gray goo.

As the robots fell lifelessly to the ground, Ashley just stared in utter shock. _What the hell just happened?_ The answer came quick; she had backup. A fellow marine!

A few more suppressed sounds ranged out, and then all became silent. Ashley decided to stick her head out to see what happened. Four headless robots littered the ground, both their cover and shields destroyed. Now that was impressive; despite their shields and cover, whoever had been firing had managed to get head shots in. _This guy must be one hell of a marksman. Good thing he's on my side._ She was so wrapped up in her thoughts she didn't notice her savior standing right behind her.

"You shouldn't be so inattentive to so your surroundings you know."

The sound of a strange voice made her jump around, but it didn't happen so smoothly for Ashley. She ended up tripping on her own feet and landing flat on her ass. Her sudden surprise turned into embarrassment, and she looked up to mumble an apology. Her voice died on her lips.

Standing before was someone unlike any marine she'd ever seen. He looked to be in his mid twenties, but that didn't tell her much, as humans today looked twenty-ish well into their forties and fifties. He stood about six foot two, and had a lean muscular body. The gray armor he wore only help accentuate his body type. More interesting were the markings on his armor; the markings on his shoulders identified him as an officer, and she didn't miss the N7 sign on his left chest pad. This guy was special-ops!

But what was most interesting was his facial features. The guy had no color to his skin, he looked like a ghost! That wasn't to say he was ugly, quite the opposite in her opinion. He was clearly Eurasian, his ancestry so perfectly mixed you couldn't tell if he was one or the other. He had white hair, which fell sightly long around his head- she'd seen Japanese and Korean actors with the same hair style.

But what was stopped her voice was his eyes; his blood red eyes that seemed to bore holes through her.

"Um", she stammered out, "who are you?" His answer was spoken in a drab monotone.

"I am Lieutenant Commander Takashi Shepard, Alliance Special Air Service. Who are you?"

* * *

Takashi hadn't been expecting anyone to still be alive out here; the geth were certainly thorough. So when he stumbled upon a lone surviving marine surrounded by geth, he took the opportunity to help out, if only to get information about what was exactly going on here. Taking out the geth had been a simple matter; these low level grunts hadn't known what hit them. With them out of the way he had made his way over to the lone survivor.

So far, he was unimpressed. This silly woman in pinkish-white armor didn't seem able enough to make head or tails of her situation. Though she had just probably been run threw the ringer, so he could cut her some slack.

"Well?" he said. "Who are you?" The confused woman finally seemed to snap out of her stupor at his question.

"I'm Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212 sir" she replied.

"I see" Takashi began. "So do all Gunnery Chiefs on Eden Prime sit on their rear ends in the middle of a combat zone?"

At the comment, Ashley seemed to remember her position, and hastily stood up in a somewhat dignified manor. "Sorry about that sir, you just startled me is all."

"Where is the rest of your squad?" Takashi asked without preamble. He already had an idea about what exactly happened, but it didn't hurt to make sure.

"They're all dead Commander" she answered with a heavy tone. "We were at the dig sit when the attack happened. I was... knocked unconscious, and when I came to, I found my entire unit had been wiped out." A painful look came across her face. "I wanted to stay and protect the beacon, but their were too many for me to take on, I had to retreat. But the robots followed me and-"

Takashi held up a hand to interrupt her. "Enough. You said you were guarding the beacon?" At her nod he continued. "Which way is it?"

Ashley pointed behind her. "It's just beyond this ridge." She paused. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because I'm going to retrieve it" was all Takashi said before heading off in the direction she pointed out. Ashley, for her part, looked at him like he just lost his mind.

"A-are you crazy" she exclaimed. "There has to be a whole platoon of robots guarding that thing!"

"That means nothing to me." And with that he was off. Williams had given him exactly what he needed: the exact location of the beacon, and what defenses the geth had put up around it. Now that he had that, he really didn't care what happened to her. Maybe she would find a place to hide. More likely she'd get shot by the geth. Either way it didn't matter. Just one more dead marine to join all the other incompetent fools who couldn't defend the beacon from synthetics who could barely hold a rifle.

But Ashley Williams didn't run and hide, nor did she stay to get shot. She ran to catch up to him, and matched him in stride. "Well then I can't let you go alone" she explained. "Two fools stand a better chance than just one."

Takashi let out a small huff in response. _I've seen her kind before,_he thought. _On Torfan her type were always the first to die._ But she had survived thus far, so maybe she would prove him wrong.

* * *

It had been a good day for the krogan mercenary Namorda. Tasked with leading a platoon of geth to retrieve the beacon, he had felt the rush of battle run through his veins as he took the lives of all the foolish humans that dared to impede his progress. Now it was different; the local marines were dead, and from what his superiors reported, all the marines on the planet had been killed.

He had just overseen the the removal of the beacon when one human female ran away from the camp. While Namorda loved combat, one weak female wasn't worth his attention, so he sent a few geth out to get her. He was beginning to regret that decision; for until they returned, he and his 'men' were stuck here to wait for them.

And so Namorda busied himself by watching the geth take dead enemy soldiers and impale them on those weird spikes of theirs. The krogan couldn't help but chuckle. The Alliance would sure be in for a surprise when they came here later. A planet full of zombies wasn't something one encounters everyday.

* * *

Whatever the two Alliance marines had been expecting, this wasn't it. Instead of finding the beacon, all they found was an empty research area with geth seemingly impaling dead marines on metal spikes. Hidden behind cover, they both took the opportunity to orient themselves with the situation.

For Takashi, the sight left him a bit confused. Like why would a krogan be working the geth, and why were they taking the time to impale their victims on those metal spikes? The sight raised more questions than answers for him.

For Ashley, it just pissed her off. She looked ready to jump out there and unleash all kinds hell, regardless of the consequences. Thankfully, she had enough presence of mind to realize what a stupid idea that was.

"What the hell is this?" she asked her companion. "Some kind of fucked up psyche warfare?"

"It could be," Takashi answered. "However I'm not an expert on synthetic intelligence, especially with matters of the geth."

Ashley looked stunned. "Geth? As in the Perseus Veil geth?"

"Indeed, however I do not know why they would choose to come out now."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Ashley said. "They're obviously here for the beacon."

"Yes, but why? They haven't been outside the Veil in over two hundred years, and judging by what they did to the Quarians they obviously have no love for organics. Why would Prothean technology- organic technology- interest them enough to attack a Human providence?" Takashi shook his head. "Things aren't adding up."

"But it does," Ashley countered. "They don't have to like organics to appreciate Prothean tech. All advanced technology is based on it. That beacon could contain knowledge of all kinds of insanely powerful technology."

Takashi frowned. "Key word in that statement: 'could'. It _could_ contain knowledge of advanced tech. Or it could contain Prothean cooking recipes. The central question is why would the reclusive geth come out for something that _could_ be valuable."

"Perhaps the geth know something about the beacon we don't" Ashley offered.

"Or there is something bigger going on here than any of us realize" Takashi finished for her. "Regardless, this situation provides us with an opportunity."

Ashley gripped her rifle. "You have a plan?"

"Do you have grenades?"

A few minutes later, Takashi found himself at the top of a ridge overlooking the dig site. With four grenades from Williams, four of his own, and a couple taken from overlooked marine corpses, Takashi was ready to enact his plan.

Using telekinesis, he discreetly moved the fourteen grenades in position all around the camp. There were around thirty geth down there, so he made sure the grenades were positioned to take out at least two each. Gripping his atomic knife in his right hand he let lose the explosive hell.

The sight was something to behold. Fourteen grenades all going of at once caused quite a big boom. Of the thirty two geth, thirty were caught in the blast and obliterated. All that were left were those who were to far way for Takashi to bother altering fight paths. That's were Ashley came in. While the remaining two turned to see the explosion, Williams burst out of cover to mow them down. And then all that was left was one shocked and awed krogan. That's where Takashi made his move.

He leaped from his high perch and swooped down on the stunned krogan like an eagle after it's prey. While in mid fight, he created a rapidly shifting mass effect field around his atomic knife. While sharp, it would need an extra 'umph' to cut threw the krogan's tough hide. The krogan looked up, just in time to see Takashi bury his blade into his neck. Then, with a savage stroke, Takashi ripped his blade across the alien's jugular, shredding everything. The krogan fell to it's knee's, trying in vain to stop all the dark blood from falling out. With his free left hand, Takashi pulled out one of his pistols, and shot the krogan in the head at point blank range. The alien's brains splattered the ground, and it fell over dead.

And just like that, the dig site was clear.

"Damn, I didn't know you were biotic" Ashley said as she walked over. "Wish you kept him alive though. We could have asked him were the beacon was taken."

"I doubt he would have talked" Takashi answered as he put his weapons away. "We would only have had time for _field interrogation_, and krogan don't respond well to that. Trust me."

"So what know?"

As if in response to Williams question, Takashi's omni-tool chimed, signaling he was getting a call. He raised it to his face; he knew who was calling.

"Shepard" Nihlus' voice rang out. "Are you at the dig site?"

"Yeah, but the beacon's been moved" Takashi answered him.

"Well that would explain why all the geth in the area are suddenly heading towards the spaceport. We need to get it out of their hands before they ship it off planet."

"Meet you at the spaceport?"

"First one gets bragging rights." And with that, The communication ended

"Who was that?" Ashley asked.

"Nihlus, my partner" Takashi answered her. "How far is the spaceport from here?"

"Constant Interstellar? Quite a few miles from here; we're on the outskirts of town, the spaceport is in the city itself."

"Looks like we need to find us a ride then."

* * *

For Nihlus, this was one mission that would stick with him for the rest of his life. Finding out it was the geth that that launched the attack was one thing. Geth beyond the Vail? It was surreal. What was more surreal than that was the fact that the geth were seemingly lead by what appeared to be organics. Krogans, turians, even asari.

He found this out when he snuck aboard a geth transport ship. After a short flight, the same ship landed on a space pad, one that now housed the beacon. Waiting for his chance to make a move, he watched as the geth were order around by the various species. Geth, who hated organics, suddenly taking orders from them? Something was seriously wrong with all this.

Having seen enough, he decided to take them on without waiting for Takashi. He couldn't risk them taking the beacon away. Drawing his sniper rifle, he went to work.

* * *

While Nihlus was busy mowing down the beacons security, Shepard and Williams were making their way to the spaceport. After clearing the dig site, Ashley led the way to the area designated for the scientists to park their cars. After a little hacking by Takashi, they commandeered a small sedan and were on the local highway towards Constant Interstellar.

While Takashi focused on the road, for both debris and hostile, Ashley busied her self with checking her newly acquired rifle. Trading in her Hahne-Kedar G554 Heavy Assault Rifle for a powerful M20 machine gun had been Takashi's idea; according to him, where they were going it would serve her a lot better. She wasn't much used to using such a weapon, but seeing as how he was more experienced in such matters, she didn't really argue. She was just happy to be away from that damnable dig site.

Before today, Ashley had never been in real combat. Unlike her companion, she didn't get a chance to fight in the Skyllian Wars; she got stuck with guard duty on relatively safe colonies and provinces. She never had to experience seeing fellow soldiers get gunned down by enemy fire. So to see her entire unit wiped out, and then watch as they were mutilated by the geth... It was almost enough to make her want to find a rock she could crawl under and never come out. Just so no one could see her cry. Almost.

She was a marine, through and through, and she wouldn't let something like this stop her. She owed her fallen comrades that much. She would get the beacon back, and teach these synthetic assholes why no one crossed humanity and got away with it.

"I'm assuming that's it." Takashi's voice broke her out of her ravine, and she looked to see what was what.

About a mile away was an enormous multi-tiered complex. "Yeah, that's it" she replied in a subdued tone. What got her down was not what she saw, but what she didn't see: the trademark skyscrapers of Constant. In a flash of insight, she realized they must have been destroyed in the initial attack when she was knocked out. Her low morale sunk even further. With the sun setting, and night almost upon them, they should have lite up the night sky. Instead, their was nothing but emptiness. Though there was something odd about the way the destroyed city looked...

For Takashi, the city was only a stray thought in the back of his mind. His attention was now focused on the spaceport; specifically what defenses the geth had put up. From what he could see, there were a few sentinels keeping vigil; most of the defenses seemed to be composed of automated turrets. This was not totally unexpected, and he had a plan in place to deal with it. He stopped the car.

"Williams, let's go" he said as he hopped out the car. "We'll walk the rest of the way." Not giving her a chance to reply, he drew his N4 and moved forward, staying to the shadows. Ashley, after taking a few seconds to right herself, followed dutifully behind him.

"Why are we walking?" she asked.

"Because," Takashi answered, "If we go any further in that car they'll make us. Not to mention they have snipers and turrets to take us out at long range. Staying in that car would be suicide."

Ashley squinted towards the complex. "Snipers and Turrets? We're over a mile away and in the dark, how would you know that?"

"I have very good eyesight." And with that, Takashi moved towards the complex. "Stick close, and stay to the shadows."

* * *

It had been bloody work, but Nihlus managed to finally remove all resistance surrounding the beacon. The geth had been easy enough to kill, but the organics had been smarter and put up more of a fight. In the end it didn't matter; they died like everyone else. Such lowly mercs could never stand a chance against a Spectre.

Standing next to his prize, he raised his com-link to contact Takashi when a sound drew his attention and his rifle. Combat adrenaline soon gave way to shock at who was standing before him.

"Saren..." he said cautiously.

"Nihlus" was all his fellow turian Spectre said in response.

"What are you doing here Saren?" Nihlus asked as he lowered his rifle. "This isn't your mission."

Saren gave him a warm smile. "The Council thought that you could use some help on this one."

Nihlus turned to look at the missing city. "Yeah, I wasn't expecting the geth to be here. The situation's bad."

"Don't worry" he heard Saren say. "I've got it under control."

Before he ask what Saren meant, he heard a bang and felt a flash of pain in his head.

And with that, the consciousness of Nihlus Kryik left this plane of existence, forever more.

* * *

For some strange reason, Takashi felt a cold hard shiver run through his body. Somethings_ wrong. Very wrong._ He shook the feeling off, he had a job to do.

From his position atop a highway exit overlooking an entrance to CIS, Takashi had a perfect place to pick off the five geth sentries placed to watch guard over the area. Williams was a few feet away, ready to fire on his command. Before the sniping could begin, there was the matter of the turrets to deal with. Takashi was prepared.

Back at the dig site, he took the time to restock his grenades, and modify them. Instead of regular fragmentation, these would let out an electrical pulse that would fry hardware systems. It was tactically sound; they were fighting synthetics after all.

The plan was much the same as before: Takashi would telekinetically throw four grenades at the four turrets. As those went down, Ashley would take out the sentries on the street, while he would shoot the three on the balcony overlooking the street. After that, they would move in the spaceport and begin what could be a long search.

With the grenades in place, and his rifle locked on his first victim, Takashi let loose. The effect was instantaneous; the geth turrets exploded in a shower of sparks. With them out of the way, the SAS commander fired on the stunned geth. Two fell headless instantly, while the third took cover under the balcony's railing. Not that that would save it. He simply fired into the stone were the geth took cover, and was rewarded with the sight of said geth's synthetic blood splattering the back wall. A quick look confirmed that Williams managed to down her two targets. _All to easy._

After taking a few seconds to make sure the path was clear, the two soldiers lept from cover and made their way into the spaceport.

They found the large terminal to be much the same as the rest of Eden Prime: filled with blood, mostly destroyed, with nary a body to be found. At least they knew why now.

"So" Ashley began, "where do we look now?"

Before Takashi could answer however, gunfire erupted all around them, most of it being deflected by their kinetic barriers. Both instinctively took cover behind a large metal column. A quick peek revealed their attackers: twelve turians, fully armored and ready for battle.

"Turians!" Ashley exclaimed as gunfire hammered her position. "We're being attacked by turians?! What the fuck is going on here!"

_Good question,_ Takashi thought. But such things could be pondered later, for now they had to survive.

From what he saw, the turians were operating in four squads of three. Not to mention they were firing controlled bursts to keep the humans pinned down, while they maneuvered into position. He and Williams would have to strike back fast, before they were over run.

While Williams traded fire with the enemy, Takashi waited patiently for his enemy to make their move. When a squad of three took up position to his right, he acted.

Above them was a sun roof instead of a proper roof. Reaching into his biotic power, Takashi made a sharp upward motion with his hand. The three turians suddenly skyrocketed upwards with such speed and velocity, that they went crashing threw the sun roof and into the distance. That took care of three of them.

Their remaining nine comrades watched stunned, clearly not expecting to run into a biotic. Ashley took advantage, and fired on two hostiles. Their shields gave way, and they slumped over dead. That shocked the remaining seven back into action.

Takashi took the initiative, and made a biotically assisted leap over to another column. Now with better position, he aimed and gunned down the third member of Ashley's targets. Six left.

The turians, were being pushed on their heels, and Takashi took advantage. With four turians in his line of sight, he let loose his biotics again, this time in the form of a telekinetic blast. Everything, from chairs, to random objects, got blown away in the blast. The four unfortunate turians caught in the biotic 'push' felt their chest cavities and limbs be completely demolished, and they managed to cry out before succumbing to death.

The final two would soon join them; Takashi's blast blew away most of the cover- they were exposed. An advantage he and Williams exploited whole heartedly. The turians fell to the ground, their bodies riddled with slugs. After taking a few seconds to make sure the coast was clear, Ashley made her way over to Shepard, who was now standing over a few of the dead turians.

"Holy hell sir!" she exclaimed. "What are they feeding you, and where can I get some?"

Takashi didn't seem to be paying attention to her, instead focusing on more important things. "I wouldn't have thought that this mission could get anymore complicated, but it seems I was mistaken."

"Yeah, why would turians be here?" Ashley agreed. "You think they're with the geth?"

"Probably, but they could be a separate faction simply interested in the beacon. It's not likely, but you never know." He paused. "But the more important question is why they're with the geth. Krogan I can understand; they'll do anything for a good fight. But turians?"

"I guess you were right: something big beyond just the beacon is going on here." Ashley shook her head. "You get the feeling we're in way over our heads?"

"Maybe" Takashi replied as he removed the silencer from his gun and attached a 'bayonet' grenade launcher. In these enclosed spaces, such a attachment would be invaluable. "At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if Protheans themselves showed up to attack us. Regardless, we have a beacon to find." He was about to walk away when he saw something flashing on one dead turian's omni-tool. It seemed someone was trying to send a communication.

"What it is it?" Williams asked.

"I think I found a way to track where the beacon is." Takashi brought up his own omni-tool and began to run a trace. Within a few seconds he had a location. "Williams, where is Space-pad 21G?"

"Hold on." Ashley ran over to a spaceport map to see where both they were and where the space pad was. "It's a couple terminals over. We'll have to take a tram to get there though."

Takashi gripped his N4. "Then lets go. We wasted enough time on these fools as is."

"Yeah, whats next? Zombies?"

* * *

The trip through the terminal had been uneventful. Aside from the occasional dead body, there wasn't anything to be found. It seemed the geth abandoned their positions and decided to pack up. That didn't bode well for the mission; if these geth left with the beacon... bad things would happen. It wasn't until the marine and the SAS officer reached the tram terminal that things reached a new level of crazy.

"The trams are down!" Ashley cried. "I don't believe this!"

"I believe it" came Shepard's deadpan reply. "Give me a few seconds, I'll see if I can get the trams up and running again." Opening a nearby console, he went to work.

Ashley meanwhile preoccupied herself by looking at the spikes the geth had set up. The entire hallway had been lined with dozens of corpses dressed spikes. It was disgusting. "How long till you get that thing up and running?"

Takashi remained focused on the console. "One second... got it. One's coming now."

"Good. Those spikes are giving me the creeps."

Just then a series of low moans reached their ears. A quick look down the hallway confirmed what was the cause: the corpses on the spikes suddenly removed themselves and where making their way towards the two Alliance soldiers.

Takashi's eyebrows went up. "What the fuck?"

Ashley's response was bit more enthusiastic. "Space zombies!"

Takashi raised his rifle. "Kill them all."

The two soldiers opened fire; Ashley going full automatic to the chest, while Takashi choose to fire more conservatively, going for head shots. They were mowing the walking corpses down, but they just kept coming. Soon, both their weapons began to overheat, and the zombies inched ever closer.

"Grenades" Takashi ordered. "Blow them to bits."

Ashley threw a grenade into the heart of their ranks while Shepard choose to let loose several with his launcher. The ensuing explosion was nothing short of deafening, but the remaining zombies continued unfettered.

"They just keep coming!" Ashley exclaimed as she resumed firing her cooled down weapon. "Where the hell's that tram?"

Takashi just stepped forward. "Move" he ordered Williams. _I grow tired of this._

"Sir?"

Shepard raised his arm and reached into his biotics. Rapidly shifting mass effect fields agitated the molecules in the air, causing them to heat up. When they reached critical mass, Takashi snapped his fingers and unleashed his attack: a huge stream of fire raced towards the zombies.

The end result was spectacular: the remaining zombies had been caught and consumed by the biotic flames, and all that was left was a melted hallway, piles of goop that used to be zombies, and one awe struck Ashley Williams.

"Is there anything you can't do?" she asked after they entered the leaving tram. "Are you secretly Superman?"

Takashi ignored her, looking out the trams window. From here, he had a good view of Constant. Or what was left of it anyway. _Somethings not right._

Ashley joined him at the window, and a somber look covered her face. "This place used to be so beautiful. Now it's gone."

A lone series chimes from his omni-tool drew Takashi's attention away from the window. Apparently, there was a massive amount of element zero going off. So much that his omni-tool couldn't register it all. "Somethings giving off massive amounts of power." When he got no response, he looked up to Williams. Whatever he was going to say next died on his lips.

Ashley's face had gone completely pale, her mouth agape, an expression of fear on her face. A quick look look at the window showed why. And for the first time in years, Takashi Shepard's face showed actual emotion: shock, and no small amount of wonder.

"My God."

The city of Constant was no longer a bombed out shell, for _something_ had just taken up residence there. Something _big._

What could only be described as a massive purple metal... squid... had suddenly appeared in the city ruins. The thing was several stories high; it dwarfed everything around it. It had to be at least several kilometers long, and that wasn't taking account of girth. But the most defining feature for Takashi was the two red like eyes in the middle. They seemed to be staring right at them. Right at _him._

"W...what is it?" Ashley whimpered.

Takashi never got a chance to answer, for soon a loud high pitch... sound rang out in their heads.

"No!" Ashley cried out. "Not again. Not again!"

As Takashi fought to stay conscious, he watched as the _thing_ lifted in to the air and skyrocketed into space. Just like that, the sound was gone, leaving two suddenly weary Alliance marines on the floor.

Taking a few calming breaths, Takashi gained his bearings and returned to his apathetic self. "I think we found out what caused the city to suddenly go boom. That... ship... must have caused all that when it landed."

Ashley didn't even seem to be paying attention, instead focusing on taking deep erratic breaths. Within moments, the tram reached their stop. Takashi stood up, gripped his rifle, and looked down at Ashley.

"I've got a mission to complete. If you want to stay here and gather yourself that's fine." With that, he exited and moved forward.

He wasn't all that surprised when Williams soon stepped in stride with him. "I told you," she said, "I'm not letting you do this alone."

* * *

Asari huntress Dialla watched as the geth rigged nuclear munitions all around the terminal. The beacon was useless to Saren now, and he ordered it destroyed. Unfortunately, conventional weapons had proved completely ineffective at destroying the beacon. So now they were trying their hands at using bombs of the nuclear variety.

Dialla sighed. The sooner this was done, the sooner she could return to Matriarch Benezia's side.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the sound of gunfire came to her ears. _So you've come Shepard._ She prepared for the fight of her life.

She would kill him, and avenge her fellows.

* * *

Considering all they been through today, Shepard wasn't all that surprised to find the remaining geth setting up nuclear explosives. _Geth, mysterious aliens, zombies, why not add nuclear bombs to the mix._

Fortunately, the geth left only a few behind to rig the charges, and it had been a simple matter taking them out before they could finish. Soon, Shepard and Williams found themselves a few feet away from the beacon. However, neither was focused on it.

Ashley looked at the lone asari standing guard. "An asari? Figures, considering."

Takashi had eyes only for the corpse near her. _Nihlus_. Did the asari kill him? If so, he would tear her apart.

"Williams, secure the area. I'll handle her."

The asari raised an elegant eyebrow. "You underestimate yourself human."

"Not really." He nodded towards Nihlus' corpse. "You kill him?"

"Tell you what" the asari said with a smile. "If you defeat me, then I'll tell what happened."

Shepard closed his eyes and sighed. "So be it."

The asari began with a quick biotic push, but found that Shepard could easily block such attacks. A few other simple biotic moves didn't work, so she moved in to engage him hand to hand. _No human can take a huntress in hand to hand combat._

A few seconds in and Dialla found the impossible to be happening. No matter what tactic she used, Shepard had the perfect counter. And she was getting frustrated; for while his face showed nothing, his eyes had a mocking light in them. She threw a savage punch at his head.

Takashi grabbed her arm and twisted, snapping the bones in her arm. When she cried out in pain, he took the opportunity to shove and twist his knife in her gut. She fell over, and quickly used her biotics to stem the blood flow. However, she soon found Takashi's pistol pointed at her head.

"You're beaten" he said. "Tell me who killed Nilhus. What is all this about?"

Dialla smiled. She had underestimated him, and made a foolish deal because of it. But she would honor her promise. "Saren" she said. "Your friend was killed by the Spectre Saren." Before he could open his mouth, she added "And that's all you'll get from me." That would be all he needed anyway.

"Very well" was all he said before he pulled the trigger, blowing the asari's brain out of her skull.

Ashley looked on from afar. "Glad to see that bitch got what she deserved." She then went to stand by the beacon.

Shepard went over to Nihlus to prepare the body for transport, when it suddenly spontaneously combusted, leaving only charred remains, and one stunned SAS operative. _Must be some kind of Spectre self destruct mechanism._ He radioed the Normandy to inform them of the mission status.

Ashley, however, was preoccupied with the now glowing beacon. "It wasn't doing anything like this when they dug it up" she said aloud. "Something must have triggered it." Her monologue was broken up when the beacon suddenly glowed brighter and began pulling her in. "Shit! Help!"

Takashi broke away from his connection and reached out to her biotically. Soon, he found himself in a tug of war with the beacon, with Ashley as the prize.

It soon became a 'good news/bad news' situation. The good news was that he managed to get her away and out of the beacons range. The bad news was that the beacon had somehow ensnared _him_. And he was now to close to get away.

_Oh hell_, he thought. And then he ceased thinking. All that was left was indescribable.

While he was only inside for a few minutes, it felt like hours to him. Thousands upon thousands of images flashed across his mind, burning themselves into his psyche. And just like that, the beacon exploded, flinging him away like a rag doll.

Ashley ran to his side. "Shepard! Shepard, are you alright?"

Takashi weakly looked into her eyes. "This has been one fucked up day, hasn't it Williams?" And with that, Takashi slipped into oblivion.

* * *

So ends another chapter. Drop a review if you please.


	3. The Citadel: Detective Work Style

And so begins chapter three, and be warned: it's long. This is where things begin to pick up, and is one of the things I always wanted to write. Here it is: The first part of the Citadel.

Disclaimer: Still don't own anything here.

Chapter Three: The Citadel: Detective Work Style

* * *

Takashi _saw_. Not dreamed, as that term did nothing to really describe what he was going through. He saw his past. He saw the dark future. Takashi had visions.

After _seeing_ what the beacon had to show him for what seemed an eternity, the visions refocused to his past. Or more specifically, the more intense moments of his life that led him up to this point. It started with his childhood. Or rather when it ended.

Most children started showing biotic potential when they hit puberty. He was different in that aspect as he had been able to use biotics for as long as he remembered. It was his biotics that kept him alive in Sky Tokyo after his mother died. A four year old had no chance otherwise.

His mother… Her death was still something of a… oddity for him. While he only had bits and pieces, he remembered that just before she died, he had started to experiment with is new found telekinetic prowess with all the wonder a toddler could have. He remembered wanting to surprise his mother when she got home so she could see his amazing new abilities.

Long story short; she had ended up sprawled on the floor, lying in a pool of her own blood.

He remembered being shocked at what happened, and how he tried in vain for days to 'wake her up'. She never did, and eventually he was forced to set her body on fire to keep the rats and other insects from desecrating her body. He remembered poring gasoline on her rotting corpse; lighting her body with a match; watching her body eventually be consumed by the flames. He would have stayed longer, but his fire had spread far more quickly than he anticipated. He made his way outside, and watched as the entire apartment complex burned to the ground.

There were other occupants in the run down building, but it being in the poor district and being made of cheap flammable materials had sealed their fate. With it being late at night- and the fact that the building didn't have modern fire detectors- by the time the local fire department got there, the building was a smoking pile of rubble. There was only one entrance to the building, and Takashi saw no one else exit. Dozens of other people had been killed in the fire he had set.

At that point, he really didn't care what happened to the other residents. His mother had been given a proper set off for her journey to the afterlife, and nothing else mattered. Those particular thoughts dictated what his mentality would be ever since.

The memories shot forward, and Takashi saw flashes of his stint on Earth: like how his pride kept him from eating out of the garbage like so many other street urchins. He instead chose to break into people's houses when they were away or asleep and raid their kitchens. Sometimes he would get caught, and eventually he was forced into using his biotics to put down his would be assailants. All of them died under his assault; he couldn't leave witnesses for the police to identify him. It was bloody work, but he was hungry, and needed to eat. It was them or him, and he liked living.

The death of others became something of a fascination for him as he got older. The next couple of years were spent wandering Sky Tokyo, and practicing killing as he went. His targets were always the street wanderers: the whores, the homeless, the drug attics, low life criminals. He chose those who he knew wouldn't be missed; Earth was so overpopulated that when a few people went missing, no one really took much notice. It was during this time that he started to gain some measure of control over his biotics, and his increasing skill in self taught martial arts.

The memories sot forward to when he was age ten- when he grew weary of Earth and its overpopulated 'glory'. Eventually, he stowed away on a small starship in search of new adventure. Though he was already a serial killer, he was still a child, and had childlike thoughts. He wanted to see the stars and the aliens that populated them. He wasn't disappointed.

The ship he stowed away on was a smuggler's vessel based out of Omega, the dark heart of the Terminus Systems. The ships' four crew members eventually found him when he was trying to sleep, and they saw the opportunity a 'beautiful' child like he would bring. They subsequently tied to molest him- or rather tried to rape him.

They _tried._ They failed: he ruthlessly tore them apart with his telekinetic abilities. One thing he had never done over the course of his twenty four years of life was commit rape. He may have been a mass murderer, but he had standards. He held those standards even today, though he was tempted to break it more times than he would care to admit. His mind was as much a threat to him as it was to others.

But back to the matter at hand; the smugglers were dead, and the ship still needed piloting. With help from the ships VI interface; he managed to get the ship intact to Omega. After abandoning the ship, he found himself wandering the Milky Way's most infamous cesspool. Despite what people said about it, it was a dream for him. There were all kinds of aliens for him to see and interact with, not to mention all the potential murder victims he could hunt. He was in paradise; at least he was until the Lystheni found him.

The memories shot forward to when he had made the mistake of killing one of their prominent family members buy accident, and they eventually overwhelmed him and took him captive. He had expected to be tortured and killed, but instead they took him in- and turned him into their personal assassin.

The reason was obvious: they wanted his biotic abilities under their belt, and were quick to see how they could best make use of him. And after getting an idea of what he could do, they… experimented on him.

Radical genetic enhancements, dangerous element Zero exposure, cybernetic implants; nothing was spared in the attempt to make him into the perfect weapon. And he didn't mind; he was equally curious to see what his biotics could really do.

It was because of them that he found out that he shared a similar 'biotic nervous system' like the asari; in effect being born with biotic abilities without being initially exposed to EeZo. This was a startling revelation for them, because biotics got their abilities in the womb, developing weak powers that needed implants to be of any practical use. Takashi had been born with 'natural' implants, and developed early. While they never found out the reason for this, they were quick to make improvements.

Takashi's memories sped forward, encompassing the ensuing six years that were spent as an assassin for the Lystheni 'family'. They helped him develop more conventional, lethal techniques for his biotics. They taught him how to handle all manner of firearms- it was because of them he was such a good marksman. They even gave him modern schooling, teaching him about modern art, science, and knowledge.

When they did their initial study of him, the Lystheni found that several portions of his brain were underdeveloped, while others were overdeveloped. The 'logic' center's, as well as the portions attributed to his biotics were overdeveloped, while the portion of his brain dedicated to things like emotion were… lacking. This was the reason he could only feel emotion in short bursts. The only things he felt consistently were pain, lust, and the high that came due to combat. Despite that, he still pushed through to make something of himself.

And he did make something of himself. During those six years he became the pride of 'his' clan. He never failed in his missions, and brought honor to their sect of the Lystheni. It wouldn't last.

His memories shot forward to when he was sixteen, when he embarked on his most audacious mission yet: he was to assassinate a prominent asari matriarch who was trying to bring 'order' to Omega and the Terminus. The Clan took exception to this, and dispatched him to eliminate her. Though it was difficult, he had managed to overpower her commando bodyguards, and eventually kill her in a biotic duel. The asari underestimating him had a lot to do with it, but so did skill. Completing that mission confirmed his faith in his combat prowess. What he had been planning for several months prior would require it.

The memories shot forward again to when he returned home to Omega, and took the initiative to make his life his own again. The moment he returned to the Lystheni compound, he began killing his salarian counterparts. None of them survived: he was relentless, and absolutely thorough. Killing them was his way of repaying them for all they did to him, both the experimentations and the knowledge they imparted to him.

The few days after the massacre were confusing; his life was his own again, but his time with the Lystheni changed him from when he was younger. Simply wandering around and killing people held no particular appeal to him anymore. While he didn't regret his decision to free himself, Takashi had begun to wonder if he should have had a plan for the aftermath to keep him busy. Luckily fate stepped in at that point.

Takashi's memories shot forward to a few days after the attack: when several Alliance recruiters approached him. Apparently, the Alliance had heard of him, and wanted to bring him into their ranks.

Initially, he was suspicious of their intent; it was curious that they came to him so quickly after his clan was killed. However, he had nothing else better to do, and he was curious what life in the military would be like. So he joined the Alliance military at the tender age of sixteen, and was sent to Macapá boot camp for basic training. That was fortunate for the Alliance, as the Skyllian Wars would broke out a year later.

The next three years saw Takashi rise through the ranks as he participated in several key battles, his biotics turning the tide against the pirate incursion. Soon he found himself as First Lieutenant under Major Marcus Kyle at the siege of Torfan. That battle alone cemented his reputation as a ruthlessly efficient field commander across the galaxy, earning him the title 'The Butcher of Torfan'.

His memories moved forward. Soon after he was recruited into the SAS, and subsequently graduated from Arcturus' N7 program faster than anyone before him. In the ensuing four years, he climbed to the Lt Commander rank as well as acquire an ever growing killing efficiency. He became the dark face of the Alliance's spec-ops programs.

The memories shot forward again to Eden Prime, all the way up to his encounter with the beacon. Takashi braced himself for what was about to come.

The visions started up again. He had seen them for what seemed like countless times, yet he still couldn't discern they're meaning. All he saw was synthetic… demons… butchering people. Death, suffering, all kinds of apocalyptic shit flashed across his brain in a never ending cycle.

Just when he had thought it would never end, the visions receded, and he felt lucidity return to him. And standing before his eyes was the smiling face of his mother, her smile shining like the sun itself. It was beautiful, and Takashi found himself never wanting to leave her sight.

Like all the other things in his life, it didn't last.

Soon his mothers' face drifted away. All he was left with was the cold empty void that defined his life, and the electric buzz that his biotics produced.

_The story of my life,_ he thought.

He blinked his eyes, and felt consciousness return to him.

* * *

The first thing he took notice of was Ashley Williams, who was apparently keeping a vigil at his bedside. "Doctor!" she cried. "Doctor Chakwas, I think he's waking up!"

_And of course, she has to shout,_ he thought. He felt like someone just shot a slug in his head. He quickly sat up and tried to shake the cobwebs from his head.

Apparently he was in the Normandy's medical bay, but how he got here was a mystery. _I guess I'm about to find out,_ he thought as Doctor Chakwas walked over wit a smile on her face.

"You had us worried there Shepard" she said. "How are you feeling?"

He didn't answer immediately, choosing to close his eyes to try and focus himself. That turned out to be a bad idea: as soon as he did, flashes of the visions from beacon came across his vision. He forced the images back down, and addressed the ship's doctor.

"I feel like the morning after my twenty first birthday. How long was I out?"

"About thirty hours" Chakwas replied. "That beacon knocked you out cold. We were beginning to wonder if you would ever wake up."

"It's my fault" Ashley imputed with a downcast look on her face. "I must have tripped some kind of security field. You… had to pull me out of the way…"

Normally he wouldn't care, but in this situation, Williams wasn't at fault.

"Don't blame yourself" he said, locking eyes with Ashley. "You had no way to what would happen. Besides, even if you hadn't gotten so close to the beacon, some else would have. The Normandy would come for the beacon, and whoever came out to pick it up would have got caught. It was inevitable."

Ashley didn't hold his gaze long, but a small smile graced her lips. "I guess…"

"Unfortunately, we'll never get the chance to find out" Chakwas said with a shake of her head.

Takashi's head came up sharply. "What do you mean?"

"The beacon exploded after you got released" Ashley answered. "The blast knocked you out. I called the Normandy in and brought you back to the ship."

Takashi raised an eyebrow at her. "Really? In that case, you have my thanks."

Ashley didn't respond, instead choosing to look elsewhere while trying to cover the obvious blush on her face. Thankfully for her, Dr. Chakwas spoke, drawing Takashi's attention away from her.

"Physically your fine; however there was an abnormal increase in your beta waves. I also noticed rapid eye movement, typically signs associated with intense dreaming."

Takashi stood up and stretched a few of his muscles, savoring the feeling of being out of his armor. Medic fatigues weren't his first choice of clothing, but he couldn't stay in his armor. He leaned against the night stand next bed, focusing on the wall behind the two women. How to answer her unspoken question?

"I saw… I'm not sure what I saw." He shook his head, the moment he made that statement, voices sounded off in his head. Voice's similar to the ones in his visions. And they weren't going away. He tried to ignore them. "Death? Destruction? Nothing's really clear."

"Hmm, I'll have to make a mention of this in my report" Chakwas began. She was about to continue when Captain Anderson made his appearance in the med-bay. "Oh! Captain Anderson, you've arrived just in time."

Anderson gave Shepard a nod of acknowledgment before turning to the doctor. "How's our XO holding up doctor?"

"All things considered, I'd say the Commander's going to be fine."

Anderson looked pleased by the news. "Good. Commander, I need to speak with you. In private."

Both women took the hint. With a quick salute from Ashley and a nod from Dr Chakwas, both women filed out of the med bay. Captain Anderson turned his full attention to Shepard.

"How are you holding up Commander?"

"I've been better. But then again I've been worse too, so I'm not complaining."

Anderson chuckled at that, and relaxed his stance. "Glad to hear it. However there are some important details we need to go over."

Shepard frowned at that. "This is about Nihlus, the geth, and the beacon right?"

Anderson nodded his head, and his face lost all traces of mirth. "Chief Williams gave me a briefing of what happened. I'm not going to blow sunshine up your ass Commander; things look bad. Nihlus is dead. Geth and pirates are invading, and the beacon was destroyed. The Council's going to want answers."

Shepard let out a huff in response. "I would have linked with Nihlus, but I was kind of preoccupied with making sure the geth didn't turn Constant into a nuclear wasteland. If it wasn't for me, we wouldn't have anything to go on; the blast would have destroyed everything."

"I'll stand by you and your report Shepard. But that's now the most pressing thing facing us right now." He gave Takashi a hard look. "This is about what that asari told you- about who killed Nihlus. The Spectre Saren."

Shepard shook his head at that. Saren was the most infamous and feared Spectre in the galaxy. Known for his ruthlessness and ability to get results, the turian was a model for which all Spectre's strived to be. That he could now be working with the Geth was troubling.

_That is, if he's working with the geth._

"You believe what she said?" Takashi asked. "She could easily be lying."

"What does your gut say?" Anderson replied.

"I believe she was telling the truth." Shepard paused. "But just because I believe it…"

"Doesn't mean the Council will" Anderson finished for him. "That's the problem were facing right now: we really don't know all that went down on Eden Prime, or why. Why were the Geth after the beacon? Were the mercenary's working with them, or did they have their own objective? What about the giant ship that launched the attack? What was Saren doing there; was he with the Geth, or for some other purpose?" The Captain let out a sigh. "We don't even know what was in the beacon."

"Actually, I can answer that last one Captain" Takashi quipped.

Anderson for his part looked surprised. "You can? What did you learn- what was in it?"

Anderson was further surprised when instead of immediately answering, his XO looked away with an uncomfortable expression on his face. That in itself was telling: very, _very_ little made 'The Butcher' uncomfortable to the point that it showed. For Anderson, it meant that what ever was going on was probably worse than any of them knew right now.

"Just before I lost consciousness… I had some sort of… Vision…"

"A vision" Anderson said slowly. "A vision of what?"

"I… I saw synthetics. Strange alien machines. Slaughtering people. Butchering them." He looked up and adopted an insightful expression on his face. "I'm the Butcher of Torfan. I'm no stranger to mass slaughter and genocide. I've seen it before, hell I've committed it." He turned to Anderson. "Why does this affect me so?"

_Maybe because deep down despite what you and others may believe, you are still human, _Anderson thought. But he didn't voice that particular thought.

"…We need to report this to the Council."

Takashi scoffed at that. "What shall we tell them? That I had a bad dream? They'll laugh us out the Citadel."

"We don't know the full extent of what the beacon contained" Anderson countered. "Regardless, the Council will want to know everything about the beacon, no matter what we think about it."

Both men were silent for a bit, each digesting what they both were now involved in. Takashi broke the silence.

"So what our next step Captain?" he asked.

"For now, you and I are scheduled to meet Ambassador Udina and several Alliance officials on the Citadel for a full debrief" Anderson answered. "We can decide what to do from there. For now, relax a bit. We won't be at the Citadel for a few hours, so you have the time to yourself."

Takashi gave him a quick salute, and that ended the meeting. Anderson left, while Shepard changed clothes.

A few minutes later, Takashi emerged from the med-bay. Ditching the medical scrubs, he now sported a long white t-shirt, blue nylon cargo pants, and simple pair of white sneakers. Simple, and easy to move in.

Nodding at the few crew members he passed in the mess, he walked until he found a secluded spot to practice in. Breathing in deeply, Takashi went about practicing martial art kata's, until Joker brought them in to dock at the Citadel.

Going threw martial art stances was one of the few things he found truly enjoyable in his life. The simple repetition of it helped him focus, kept his energy flow in check.

When he joined the Alliance military, he was taught Krav Maga like all recruits going threw basic training. A reliable, versatile style, the Israeli based martial art was the hallmark style of all regular marine units. While Takashi found the style useful- and he had achieved several degrees of mastery of it while he was a regular marine- it wasn't really for him. Fortunately, when he joined SAS, they taught him their own brand of hand to hand combat.

All Alliance special force operatives in the SAS practiced Shaolin style kung-fu, based off of the style taught to the old Chinese Special Forces. Takashi took to the Chinese based martial art, not only due to its particular movements, but also because of the teachings and thought processes behind it. Despite learning the art only a few years ago, he became only the seventh person in Alliance history to obtain a seventh degree black belt in the art.

Back then he was still a Lieutenant, and his then Captain Charles Jian had been so impressed, that he began to instruct him in his native Tai Chi. Takashi was honored, and soaked up all Captain Jian could teach him before he himself was killed on a mission a few years ago. As a way of honoring his memory, Takashi continued his knowledge of the art until he obtained recognition from Tai Chi masters back on Earth. Now in both styles, he was beyond any definable level of skill, and was considered one of humanity's best hand to hand specialists.

Spending several minutes going threw several moves as if fighting an invisible opponent, Shepard began to go into lull that the art provided him. He could feel his biotic's electrical hum under his skin as he struck the air around him. It was a beautiful feeling, and soon lost himself to the moving meditation.

They had a lot to do. They knew next to nothing about what happened on Eden Prime. The Council would want answers, and he seriously doubted his 'visions' would offer much in the way of pacifying the Council. Worst still, the man who allegedly planned the attack could very well get off scott-free, and the Alliance… Who knew what the Alliance would do now. Declare war on the geth? Attack the Terminus Systems? All the options would involve live combat action, but that left him dissatisfied. While the Alliance didn't mean that much to him as it did to others, he still recognized that it was the best chance humanity had to evolve from the barbaric self-destructive society it had once been. That a rogue agent could cause such damage to it and get away…

_There has to be a way to find out what really happened. There's always a way…_

_

* * *

  
_

Ashley Williams for her part was doing alright. Despite losing her comrades on Eden Prime, she now found herself serving on the most the most advanced warship the Alliance had. It was a tremendous honor for her. She had tried for years to get a space assignment, but because of her… ancestry, she got held back. She finally made her way on to one, but only because she was lucky enough to survive the slaughter planet side, and link up with one of humanity's top special-ops officers.

The attack on Eden Prime wasn't as bad as they initially thought. Constant was wiped out sure, and most of their leaders- such as the governor, senator, and congressmen- were killed, and so had most of Eden Prime's defense force. However, the geth apparently stayed focused on Constant itself, and left Eden Prime's other major cities alone. Though they didn't have much to work with, by the time she and Shepard had reached the beacon, what was left of the marine presence on Eden Prime had come to wipe out the remains of the invasion force. They were aided by the remnant survivors of Constant's marine force.

_Better late than never,_ Ashley thought sarcastically. Still, Eden Prime for the most part would rebuild, and for her actions she was now apart of the Normandy's crew. She owed Shepard and Anderson for that.

When the Commander and Captain had gone off to do whatever it was they did, she took the time to use the Normandy's many extranet terminals to find out what she could about her new CO's. She wasn't disappointed.

Captain David Anderson was a legend in the Alliance military. The man had more medals than anyone else in the SAS branch. Hell, he had medals she didn't even know existed. Know for honorable action during the First Contact War, and the Skyllian War, David Anderson was the poster boy for a 'paragon' Alliance officer- the kind of man you put on posters and put on the vids.

Lieutenant Commander Takashi Shepard was a whole different story- similar, but different. Like Anderson, Shepard had all kinds of medals and special commendations. Hell, he was second only to Anderson in medal count. Though he was too young to have fought in the First Contact War, he became legendary during the Skyllian Wars, most notably during the Skyllian Sieges. The difference really ended there.

Where as Captain Anderson was someone the Alliance could use to get people could look up to, Commander Shepard was someone the Alliance could use to keep people in fear. His bio referred to him as the one who led the assault on Torfan. That particular series of events earned him the title 'Butcher of Torfan'.

According to extranet reports, he mercilessly killed everyone he came across in the base- slavers, mercenary's, captured civilians, slaves- it didn't matter. Whether they tried to surrender or put up a pitiful fight, Takashi had then all executed. His reasoning was that they couldn't be sure if some renegade slavers and mercs were trying to escape the slaughter by disguising themselves as POW's. So he killed them all, regardless what the consequences were for everyone involved.

A lot of good marines died on Torfan. Those that didn't all got discharged for all kinds of mental conditions. All save for Takashi. He got promoted, and made his way up the SAS ladder.

She shook her head as she logged off. After going through combat with him in Eden Prime, Ashley wasn't all that surprised to see what Takashi's bio was like. _Speaking of,_ she thought, _where is he?_ She kind of wanted to ask him something.

She got up from her terminal and looked around the mess to see where he went.

"Looking for something?"

Ashley turned around to see the man who was the first to introduce himself when she came aboard: Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko. An attractive man, and kind too. Ashley liked him instantly.

"Yeah, I'm kind of wondering where Commander Shepard went, I wanted to ask him something."

"The Commander?" Alenko repeated with a tilt of his head. "He went off over there" he pointed to a hallway leading out of the mess. "Probably went off to practice hand to hand. It's how he usually spends his free time."

Ashley smirked at that. "Hand to hand huh? Maybe he'd be up for a quick spar."

Alenko turned to look her strait in the eye, and his face took a look of seriousness. "Chief, your new here, so you wouldn't know. I'll warn you now: _never_ face Takashi in hand to hand combat."

"Why" Ashley asked. "Does he fight dirty, or never hold back?" Neither would surprise her, given what was in his profile.

"Your right, he doesn't hold back" Alenko answered. "But that's not the full point. Takashi's the best martial artist I've ever seen or heard of."

"He's that good?"

"No, he's better." Alenko shook his head. "I've been on missions with him, missions undercover. I've seen him engage people with guns with only his bare hands. Most of the time, we were vastly outnumbered. The Commander's killed them all, much to their surprise. And mine."

Ashley raised an eyebrow at that. "Engaging a group of armed enemies without a weapon? Is he crazy, or just suicidal?"

"I asked him the same thing. He told me he just wanted a challenge." Alenko got a dark look on his face. "Biotics make the best hand to hand specialists; it comes with the biotics. But him… he's broken; he likes the violence, the killing. I've seen him take on two angry krogan in hand to hand before. In a few seconds, both of them were dead on the floor, broken and bleeding all over the place. It was madness."

Ashley didn't know what to say to that. Anyone who could kill krogan in hand to hand had to be some kind of monster. "How's that possible?"

"All SAS personnel receive the best and latest genetic and cybernetic enhancements. Being able to take those enhancements is one of the criteria needed to join in the first place. But him… From what I heard, the guy was already enhanced beyond normal Alliance infantry. When the Special Forces got there hands on him, and add to that his biotics… the guy's a genetic monster."

"So… don't fight him at hand to hand, is that what you're saying?"

"If you do, you'll end up broken and bleeding on the floor" Alenko added ominously.

"…I'll keep that in mind" Ashley said as she moved toward the mess' exit.

Moving down the hallway, she began to notice a charge in the air. Her hair was starting to stand on end, and her teeth were tingling. As she came into the room, Ashley saw the Normandy's XO attacking the air around him, as if he were facing an invisible enemy. The loose movements, the form… it was a sight to behold. She stood still, just watching him move with more speed and power she thought a human was capable of.

"Is there something I can do for you Chief Williams?" Shepard asked. His voice shook her out of stupor.

"Is that hawk style?" Ashley asked. She recognized the movements from a few extranet vids.

"Crane style" he replied, going threw a series of kicks. "Again, what can I do for you?" Though his voice and movements were the same, Ashley got the feeling his patience was wearing thin.

"I…I just wanted to talk to you about Eden Prime. I'm… I'm sorry about Nihlus."

Takashi finished his kata, and after a few breaths, turned to face Ashley. "There is nothing to be sorry about. You had nothing to do with his death. It couldn't be helped."

"But still…"

"We are soldiers" Takashi said with finality. "Death is part of job. When your number comes up, it's over. Nihlus' did."

Ashley frowned at that. "That's grim Commander. But I guess after what happened on Torfan I shouldn't be surprised." She froze the moment the words left her mouth. _Did I just say that?_ _I have to say something to smooth this out._ "I mean… I can't imagine what that must have been like. It must have been Hell."

If he took offence at her earlier comment, he didn't show it. "Not really. For me, violence and killing comes as naturally as breathing. I was actually rather comfortable on Torfan."

"… I see. With all due respect sir, I'm glad you're on our side." _Is this guy for real?_

Takashi didn't reply after that. He just stood there, looking at her with the same hollow expression on his face. She was starting to get uncomfortable. "So… I guess Eden Prime wasn't too bad for you?"

"Not really, if you go by combat. Those geth and mercs were ridiculously easy to kill. But the beacon…"

Ashley winced. "To bad that beacon got destroyed. At least the colony was saved." She looked at Shepard. "What about Saren? What going to happen to him?"

"Honestly? Probably nothing." That was not the answer she was expecting.

"What! Why?"

"We have nothing on him, just the words of a lone asari mercenary. The Council would need a lot more than that to bring down a Spectre, let alone the best one they have." The Commander shook his head. "I don't like it, but that's how it is."

Ashley looked stupefied for a moment. "So what now?"

"Captain Anderson and I are scheduled to meet several high ranking officials on the Citadel. We'll probably discuss our next move."

Neither of them said anything for a moment. Then, Takashi moved towards the mess, hoping for a bite to eat before the meeting. Ashley followed him.

The mess wasn't empty; Kaidan, Chief Engineer Adams, Navigator Pressley, Doctor Chakwas, and a few security marines were sitting at the main table. They all rose and saluted when Takashi made his appearance. "As you were" he said. While Ashley sat at the table, Takashi went to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of ice-tea and a ready to eat turkey sandwich. Taking a sip and a bite, he went a leaned against the wall, relaxing before the meeting.

Apparently, whatever these guy's had been discussing before he got here wasn't something they wanted him to hear; they hadn't opened their mouths since he got here.

For their part, the rest of the group- including Ashley- just sat stupefied at the spectacle that was Takashi eating a sandwich. In their minds, he was such a larger than life figure, that he did such simple things like eat turkey sandwiches was just… weird. It was like watching a lion sip wine and munch on appetizers. Though eventually, the silence got awkward. Thankfully, Kaidan broke the silence.

"So, Chief Williams, how do you like the Normandy?"

"It's great" Ashley replied. "I'm just kind of in shock about Eden Prime though…"

Corporal Jenkins nodded his head sympathetically. "I know how you fell, I grew up there. I don't understand how this happened."

"Something was wrong about this mission from the start" Pressley said. "We all knew it."

"But nobody knew it would turn out like this…" Adams quipped.

"I wonder about that" Takashi injected. The others turned to look at him.

"What do you mean?" Doctor Chakwas asked.

"A lot about the attack doesn't make sense. A lot about this mission didn't make sense."

"In what way?" Jenkins asked. "I thought you guys were supposed to pick up some beacon. Seems straight forward."

"Not when you stop to think about it." Takashi answered him. He took another bite from his sandwich before continuing. "Williams, the beacon was discovered three days ago right?" At her nod he continued. "If that's the case, how did the geth and a few mercenary's assemble an invasion fleet and a plan to pull it off in three days time? Planning a full scale invasion takes more than a few days notice, especially so for non military personnel like mercenary's."

"…What are you saying?" Ashley asked cautiously.

"I'm saying there's no way the geth could have planned this in three days time. There are inconsistencies in the whole story here."

"But the geth somehow still attacked" Adams said. "What you're saying is impossible happened."

"Indeed" Shepard replied. "So that means one of two things: one, the geth knew before hand that there was a beacon on Eden Prime. Now this seems unlikely, as to the fact that information on the Protheans is rare, even more so on beacons. That we found one on Eden Prime is impressive enough. That the geth had knowledge about it before hand, and choose to attack the same day we were coming to retrieve it seems too much of a coincidence. So that leaves option two."

"Which is…?" Kaiden asked.

"That the beacon was discovered long before the three days it was 'officially' announced, and somehow that information got leaked."

"That wouldn't surprise me" Adams said. "I've been in the military for a while, and the brass is always keeping secrets."

"But the information got leaked" Corporal Jenkins replied with a conspirator's tone. "A mission like this seems like you would need high level security clearance to know about it before hand. If there was a leak, it had to have happened at the highest levels."

Pressley snorted at that. "Probably some young general or admiral hoping to add more bars to his jacket." He paused. "How did it make its way to the geth I wonder?"

"Information travels fast," Adams answered, "especially so in Citadel space."

"But that's not the only problem" Takashi quipped after taking another bite from his sandwich. "The fact that there were geth _and _mercenaries down there is troubling, and more than a little curious. The geth don't like organics; that's a fact. So for arguments sake, let's say that they weren't working together. If that's the case, both groups just happened to attack on the same day? Talk about big coincidences…"

"Unless they aren't coincidences" Dr. Chakwas added.

"And they were working together" Shepard finished for her.

"But you just said geth don't like organics" Ashley quipped. "So how can they work together?"

Alenko shook his head. "Two groups don't have to like each other to complete a task together. With a prize like the beacon at hand, it probably forced the two together."

"But that in itself is curious" Takashi imputed. "These two groups don't seem like the sharing and working together type. Yet they are."

"So what does that mean?" Jenkins asked.

"What it means is that there is probably a powerful force behind these two groups, forcing them to work together. What that force is, I do not know."

Silence followed that statement, and for a time no one said anything. Again, it was Kaidan who broke the silence.

"This whole thing… something big is going on. Something _foul_" he said.

No one saw any reason to contradict him.

* * *

A few hours later, Takashi found himself waiting with Captain Anderson in the Alliance embassy's Reception room. The multi tiered complex was humanity's main hub of citadel politics- one could even say that it was the hub for all human politics as well. Located in one of the Presidium's prime real estate locations, the building had many open windows and balconies showing off the beauty of the heart of the Citadel.

The Citadel was an ancient Prothean deep space station. Due to its immense size, and the fact that it was placed at the heart of the Relay network, insured that it was used as the center for galactic politics. Over eighty percent of the galaxy's intelligent species recognized the Citadel as the figurative heart of the galaxy. The Citadel Council would have it no other way.

Even as Takashi stood at the embassy's open window overlooking the Presidium, he couldn't help but feel a sense of wonder at what the Protheans had accomplished. Unlike the Wards- the five station arms that housed most of the Citadel's population- the Presidium was reserved only for the elite of the galaxy. Instead of open space, the presidiums 'roof' was a simulated blue sky that looked just like the real thing. Add to that warm gentle breezes, green pastures, real life forests, and large bodies of water, the Presidium was truly an Eden in Space. Takashi could only imagine what the Protheans had to go threw to create all this, least of all the Wards.

"I hope you're ready to withstand some heated questions Commander" Anderson's voice rang out. "The committee will be ready for us any minute now. Better go over your state of dress one more time."

Both he and Captain Anderson were in full military officer's dress. Instead of the blue normal Navy personnel wore, or the green of marine ground forces, both men were garbed in the jet black of special ops. On their jackets, one could fine numerous medals, stripes, bars, and other forms of endearment that showed off how 'accomplished' they were.

"Considering the topic of the meeting, I doubt they will much care how we are dress" Takashi countered.

The moment the Normandy docked in the Citadel, they received a rather short message to report to the Alliance embassy at once. Without going into details, the contents of the message gave Takashi an idea that this meeting could well turn into political execution for him. Maybe even Captain Anderson as well; political big wigs were assholes like that.

Anderson was about to reply, when the lovely young receptionist interrupted. "The committee will see you now."

Both SAS officers brushed off their jackets, and moved to the door.

"Here we go" Anderson said grimly as he moved to open the door.

"We both survive a hundred battles facing the scum of the universe, only to be taken down by our own allies" Takashi remarked. "I would lament on how sad this is, if only this situation has not been repeated so many times throughout history, both human and otherwise."

"You don't know how this meeting will turn out. It could be that we'll both make it out of here alive with our skin intact."

Takashi gave him a look that said _bullshit_, but didn't voice it. They entered the meeting room.

Waiting for them inside were three of humanity's top political and military figures, sitting around a large mahogany table. Neither was surprised by this; the mission on Eden Prime had far reaching consequences.

At the head of the table was Ambassador Udina, humanity's current representative to the Citadel. As the most influential and important individual in human politics, the pale skin man projected an aura of power and authority. Currently, he had his hands folded on the table, focused on a data pad in front of him.

To his left was Vice Ambassador Goyle. Once the Ambassador to the Citadel, she stepped down a few years ago to make way for Udina. However, due to her extensive knowledge of Citadel politics, Udina kept her on as his Vice, despite her age. With high cheek bones, and creamy mocha skin, the woman was still a knock out, despite being in her early eighty's. She still had the look of a woman entering middle age, and as she focused on them, Takashi felt a tug at his groin. The word _MILF_ ran threw his mind, but he forced it down.

To Udina's right was Fleet Admiral Charles Hackett. Commanding officer of the Fifth Fleet, Hackett served on the Alliance's brass on Arcturus. Known for wining incredible battles during the Skyllian Wars, the man was perhaps the most powerful man in the Alliance military. With his slick chestnut brown hair, hawkish nose, and piercing eyes, the man didn't just project power and authority, he embodied it.

Shepard and Anderson both gave salutes; the latter being sharp and formal, while the former choose loose but still respectful.

"At ease" Hackett said. "Please, sit down. We have much to discuss."

As the two SAS commanders sat down, Udina finally turned his attention to them. "It is good to see that you two gentlemen are in fine shape. I trust you both are well rested, ready for what lies ahead?"

Anderson was quick to respond. "Yes sir, thank you sir." Takashi inwardly scoffed at Anderson's response. If there was one thing he could fault the Captain for, it would be that he sometimes took himself too seriously. It gave him a somewhat… brownnose-ish type of front when dealing with his superiors. But that was just his opinion; no doubt the Captain would say the opposite of him. "Has the Council come yet?"

"They won't be here for a little while longer" Goyle stated softly. "Fortunately that works for us."

"We've gone over the mission reports, but we would like to hear the story from your own mouths" Udina continued "When the Council comes knocking, we need to make sure that when they question you, everything matches up. The last thing we need is the Council suspecting foul play." He turned to Anderson. "We'll start with the beginning of the mission from your prospective Captain, and then Commander Shepard will tell us his version."

And so for the next twenty minutes, Takashi and Anderson told their stories. During so, the committee made no comments, and showed no visible reactions. And when Shepard finished, Udina leaned back in his chair and let out what could only be described as a tired sigh.

"When I read the reports it sounded crazier." He shook his head. "At least this will help take off some of the edge when-" He never got a chance to finish; a soft chime rang out threw the room. Apparently, the secretary had a message to pass along. "Yes?" Udina called out.

"Ambassador, the Council is here, they are waiting to see you."

"Send them in."

All five humans stood to their feet as three individuals made their way into the room. The group- composed of an asari, a turian, and a salarian- made their way to their seats and sat down without preamble. As the humans returned to their seats, only then did the Council speak.

"We apologize for being late" the Salarian Councilor Gono began. "The weekly financial briefing took longer than expected."

Hailing from the Salarian Union, Councilor Gono was the most power and influential salarian in the galaxy. Dressed in a black and red robe with a hood, the councilor gave off a mysterious aura. That was typical of salarians; they were always keeping secrets and mysteries.

"It is quite alright" Udina replied. "Captain Anderson and Commander Shepard just arrived."

"Ah yes" the Turian Councilor Tyrannous said, "the two commanding officers from Eden Prime."

Hailing from the Turian Hierarchy, Tyrannous was a retired Master General from the turian military. Know as a strategic mastermind, the councilor gave off a stiff, formal posture that was the hallmark of turian discipline.

"We are glad to see you both unharmed" the Asari Councilor Nadana said in a soft tone. Her voice had a melodious sound to it. "Your bravery is to be commended."

Hailing from the Asari Republics, Nadana was a relatively young asari matriarch- only just over six hundred years old. Known across the galaxy as a master diplomat and savvy politician, her intelligence was surpassed only by her ethereal beauty.

She was easily the most attractive asari Shepard ever laid eyes on. With her deep blue skin, small nose, and pouty lips, she looked absolutely breath taking. The SAS officer was suddenly glad that he was sitting down; it made sure no one saw the beginnings of the erection in his pants. And he wasn't alone, judging how Anderson had suddenly stiffened up.

"Thank you milady" Takashi said politely.

"Now that we are all here, shall we begin?" Councilor Tyrannous asked Udina.

"Yes, would you like to hear testimony about the Eden Prime reports?"

"That will not be necessary" Nadana said with a shake of her head. "The reports right here will suffice for the moment." And so the meeting began.

* * *

An hour later, Takashi found himself sitting on the embassy's lawn, trying to gather his thoughts.

All things considered, the meeting had gone better than he expected. Much to his surprise, the Council did not crucify him for losing the beacon on Eden Prime. Quite the opposite, they were rather impressed that he managed to save the colony. And when he told them of what the beacon showed him, while the turian and salarian councilors looked at him as if he were crazy, Councilor Nadana gave words of understanding and warmth. No doubt she thought the same as her compatriots, but at least she didn't show it.

More interesting was how they reacted to the allegations that Saren might have been involved. There was no heated rejections, no stinging remarks of foul play by the humans. Instead, the Council politely pointed out that until there was concrete evidence, nothing could be done on that front. Not surprising, humanity had already accepted that much. It was just surprising that the Council didn't seem all that shocked to hear that Saren might be a traitor.

Indeed, the real purpose of the hearing was to see if the Council would back the Alliance should more geth attack human colonies. Not surprisingly, the Council said that there wouldn't be too much direct involvement at this point; the last thing they wanted was to provoke the terrorists of the Terminus systems. While his four human compatriots seemed miffed by this, he didn't mind. The attack on Eden Prime seemed like an isolated event. They were only there for the beacon. Now that it was gone, what interest would they have in human colonies?

As of right now, the human committee was discussing possible retaliation actions. Without back up from the Council however, it would be difficult. Still, _something _had to be done; they couldn't let something like this slide.

But that wasn't the most pressing thing in Takashi's mind right now. What really bothered him was his Spectre status. With Nihlus dead, and the beacon destroyed, things weren't looking good. It was a shame, being a Spectre probably would have bee a sight more interesting than his current occupation. And that left him thinking of what to do next. While the military lifestyle didn't really fit him, there weren't really any other options other than become a mercenary for hire. While he would be his own boss, that particular style of life would be a step down in his opinion. _Seems like I'm stuck with the Alliance_…

Takashi was so caught up in his thoughts, that he didn't notice a figure standing right next to him. A soft cough drew his attention upwards. Standing next to him was none other than Councilor Nadana herself, along with twenty of her handmaidens. And by handmaidens, that really meant commando bodyguards.

"May I join you?" she asked politely. Takashi quickly stood up and bowed.

"Of course milady, I would be honored." As they both sat down with her entourage taking positions around them, Shepard couldn't help but wonder what the matriarch would want with him. "Is there something I can help you with? Is the meeting over?"

"It's being finished as we speak. But that is not why I am here" she said in that melodious tone of hers. "I'm here to speak to you about Saren, and what should be done about him."

That was surprising. "Shouldn't this be discussed with the committee milady?"

Nadana shook her head. "No, this concerns you right now." She looked him straight in the eyes; something few people could do for any significant length of time. His opinion of her rose sharply. "More specifically, you and your Spectre status."

"Spectre status milady?"

"Yes. Despite Nihlus being dead, I still think you deserve the honor. Your actions on Eden Prime, your actions during the Skyllian Sieges, your… time on Omega; these things make you a perfect candidate for joining Special Tactics." So she knew about his history. He guessed he shouldn't be surprised, they probably knew everything about him if they were seriously considering him for Spectre status. "However, my two colleagues would like more proof before we can accept you. They would dismiss you right now, something I find rather… distasteful." She turned her gaze to the giant lake outside the embassy grounds.

"…I see. But what does that have to do with Saren… oh." He could answer his own question. _They want me to find proof that Saren's a traitor._

"I see you understand."

"But I wouldn't even know were to start milady."

Nadana smiled softly. "The galaxy is large Commander, and so is the Citadel. Surely someone on this great station would have the knowledge you seek. _Powerful_ someone's."

So she was giving him hints. But still… "What makes you thing these powerful 'someone's' will want to speak with me? I'm no one important." To his surprise, Nadana let out a giggle at his statement.

"You underestimate how important you really are young one" she said with a smile. "I think you will be surprised to see just how well know you really are."

"If you say so" Takashi replied, not believing.

"I do say so. In fact, I'll help you get started. Do you know of Sha'ira?"

"Who doesn't know of the Consort? She's one of the most influential people on this station." Takashi paused. "What makes you think she'll see me? I heard there's a several month waiting list to see her. Unless you made a reservation for me several months ago, I highly doubt they'll just accept a late walk-in." Once again, the asari just smiled at him.

"Again, you underestimate how important you are. Sha'ira is as concerned about this as I am" Nadana rose to her feet, and after doing so, she began to brush the stray pieces of grass of her rear end. It was all Shepard could do not to stare and drool. "I suggest you leave for her now. Time presses." She began to walk off, with her handmaidens in tow. "Good luck Takashi, I look forward to seeing what you can do."

And so she left, leaving one Spectre hopeful both confused and aroused.

_Damn, she has a perfect ass, _he thought. What he wouldn't give to mount her and ride her till his dick fell off. _One can only dream._ He too rose. He had a job to do.

* * *

After consulting with several terminals, and taking a few trams to get where he needed to be, Takashi found himself standing in front of the Consort's building. It was a large structure, aesthetically pleasing in asari fashion. Taking a deep breath, he went inside.

The reception area was as large as one would expect it to be; many sought out the Consort's… services. He went up to the counter to speak with the lovely young asari receptionist.

"Hello sir" she began politely. "My name is Nelyna, how may I help you this day?"

"I was hoping you could help me" Takashi replied. "I was hoping to speak to the Consort, but I'm afraid I don't have a reservation. Is there any way I could speak with her today?"

Nelyna, for her part, still maintained her cheerful demeanor. "I'm afraid you can't see her without a reservation, many seek her services." That was pretty much the answer he had been expecting. "If you leave your name and business association, we'll contact you as soon as she is available."

He didn't have anything else to lose. "Sure. My name is Lt. Commander Takashi Shepard, with the Systems Alliance Special Air Service."

Nelyna's reaction was surprising; she looked up with a shocked look on her face. "Commander Shepard? Hmm, you look different than I would have thought." _She's heard of me? That's a shock._ Nelyna typed in his information into the system. "Ok, expect to hear something in about… three or four months."

Shepard let out a sigh; he knew this was a waste of time. "Really? Never mind then, I probably won't be here by then."

Nelyna let out a sad smile. "Aw, well we hope you do manage to come back. We always enjoy seeing new clients." Takashi gave her a formal bow, than took his leave.

_Well that was a huge waste of time, _he thought as he walked down the street. _I knew there was no way she would see me today. 'More important than you realize', what a joke._ Unfortunately, he had no other leads to go on. Maybe Captain Anderson would have ideas…

As he moved across a walk way, his personal comlink began chirping, signaling that he had a call. He raised it to his mouth. "Hello?" he answered.

To his surprise, it was Nelyna's voice on the other end. "Commander Shepard? I'm glad I was able to contact you. There has been an unexpected opening in Sha'ira's schedule. She can see you today- right now in fact."

"Uh, sure. I'll be there in a few minuets." And with that, the call ended, leaving him suspicious. _There's no way that a few minuets after I leave, a spot opens up for me._ _Especially since I was told I would have to wait a few months. Something isn't right here._ Even still, he made his way back to the Consort's residence.

As soon as he entered, Nelyna waved him over. "Commander, just walk up the stairs to your right. Sha'ira is on the third floor. She's waiting for you now." Takashi nodded at her and made his way up stairs. When he emerged to the third floor, he moved his way down a long hallway to a single room.

Knocking on the door, then entering, he was greeted by an asari as beautiful as Councilor Nadana herself: the Consort Sha'ira.

"Hello Commander" she said softly. She was similar to Nadana in terms of physical appearance, with the exception that she wore a lot more… loose clothing. Even though she was sitting down, she still commanded an aura of beauty and power. "I'm glad you were able to make it today."

"I'm glad you were able to see me today" Takashi countered. "I find it strange to go from waiting a few months to a few minuets."

"Indeed, it is strange" Sha'ira said with a smile. "However I think we could help each other."

"How can I help you? I doubt there's anything I can do that you can't get someone else to do." Sha'ira just chuckled as she stood up and made her way towards him. As she moved across the room, he couldn't help but notice how absolutely lovely her stomach looked. And the way her hips swayed…

She stopped short just a few inches away from his face. Though he was surprised how close she came to him, he didn't show it. "Your arrival caused quite a stir on this station Commander. When someone such as yourself comes, I take notice."

"…I'm flattered, but that doesn't explain why you asked me here."

Sha'ira didn't answer, instead choosing to raise her hand and play with one of his hair locks. "Such soft hair. I wouldn't have thought it for one such as you" She remarked as though she never heard him. While Takashi didn't like having his question ignored, he couldn't deny the pleasure that came with such a beautiful woman playing with his hair.

"My question, milady?" Her hands soon began moving across his skin.

"The reason I asked you here is because of what you are investigating. Rumor has it that your looking into what happened on Eden Prime. I would like to help." Her hands moved down his chest.

"News travels fast here" Takashi remarked as he savored the feeling the Consort provided. "Why would you want to help me? What do you get out of this?" He was about to ask her something else when he felt her hand down his pants. He found out just what a nice grip she had. "Um… what are you doing?"

"Quiet" she said as she leaned into him. Takashi fought to stay focused on his situation as she stroked his hardening member. "The reason I'm helping you is because a fellow matriarch of mine has gotten far too deep in… well you'll find out. By helping you, maybe you can save her."

"Another matriarch? What does that have to do with anything?" God, this felt good.

"Talk to Barla Von in the financial district. He's an informant for the Shadow Broker. Ask him about some of the Shadow Broker's other informants. You'll be surprised at what you find out."

"…Right" Takashi said. He was ready to get off. To bad for him that Sha'ira at that moment choose to stop her ministrations, taking her hand out of his pants, and moved back to her seat.

"And now I must ask you to leave Commander. I have many other clients waiting for me." She picked up a datapad. "Be a dear and show yourself out."

Takashi for his part just stood there with his pants open. _What the fuck?_ She suddenly calls him here, tells him to see some guy called Barla Von- all the while jerking him off-, then tells him to get lost. He felt used.

"Is there a problem?" Sha'ira asked, still looking at her data pad.

This asari bitch blue balled him! He had half a mind to take out his two pistols and blow her brains out. Instead, he just zipped up his pants and turned to leave. As he left, she called out "Remember: see Barla Von. He'll tell you the steps you need to find out what you seek. After you get to the bottom of all this, come back to me. We can finish what we started."

Shepard didn't even look back as he left the room. Not really caring that he had a raging erection in his pants, he moved past several of the Consorts acolytes to the stairwell.

"Excuse me, Commander Takashi?" a demure voice rang out. Takashi turned to see Nelyna standing right behind him.

"Is there something I can do for you?" he replied coldly. He was frustrated enough as is.

"We aim to please here" Nelyna said. "If Sha'ira is to busy, we make sure our clients leave contented." She pointed down to his erection. "Do you wish something done about that?" she asked seductively.

"What can you do about it?" Takashi asked curiously.

The blue asari moved forward, putting her hands on his cheek, cupping his face. "Here" she whispered hungrily. "Let me show you."

Nelyna move her head forward and put her lips to his. At the moment of contact, Takashi felt something of an electrical current move threw his entire jaw line. Not one to pass up free sex, he kissed her back.

Her head moved to kiss him harder; her tongue pushed its way between his lips and teeth until it mixed with his own. He tasted her; she was warm and sweet, like she had just eaten some sort of candy before kissing him. He felt her move closer to him, his legs moved back until his back hit the wall behind him. She continued to push and almost demand a forceful kiss.

As his hands began to move over the small of her back, she pulled away. "Excited are we?" Her lips brushed his and he moved to kiss her again but she pulled away.

Her silvery blue eyes bored into his as she moved past his lip entirely and began work on the skin of his neck. Slowly- ever so slowly- she made her way down from there to his collarbone. Takashi for his part just laid back and enjoyed the ride. He had to give her credit; Nelyna knew her stuff. "Is this how you plan to 'leave me contented'?" _If so, it's working._

Nelyna just looked up and smiled. "You haven't seen anything yet." While she went back to working on his neck, her hands made their way up under his shirt to touch his chest. Every single movement this woman made on his skin sent chills up his spine. He liked her touching him. When her hands made their way to his waist line, he thought _here we go again._ He was pleasantly surprised.

Undoing the clasps, she opened his pants and let his dick loose free to the world. "Um, maybe we shouldn't be doing this in the hallway…" he started. He never got to finish; Nelyna crashed her lips to his once again to silence any protest.

"Trust me" she breathed between kisses. He was inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt. If her hands on his chest felt good, then her hands on his erection was _heavenly_.

While she planted kisses on his jaw, neck and under his ears he was very much aware of her hands around his groin area. And when her fingers stroked his most prized part of his anatomy and squeezed hard he let out a lustful gasp mixed with a pleasured groan.

"I'm glad to see you like it so much" she said with a smile and kissed him again. As their tongues intertwined, her hand moved up and down his shaft, sending pleasurable sensations all throughout his body.

Yes he did like it, he liked it very much. He liked it so much he wanted more; he wanted her to go a little faster, to squeeze a little tighter. His breath began to quicken and grow louder, his chest heaved. He liked this very much indeed.

He barely noticed when she stopped kissing him. He barely noticed when her face left his neck; he barely noticed when she began to kneel. He barely noticed anything until he felt something warm and wet surround him.

It was amazing.

He looked down at her, partly to see what she was really doing and partly to see if it was really happening. Her mouth covered him completely; he could feel himself touching the back of her throat. Her tongue swirled around him, the deeper she went and each time she pulled out. She sucked on him and gave a tiny but pleasurable nip at his head before taking him completely in her mouth again. _Shit._

Back and forth her head worked, her tongue doing things he didn't think possible. God, he wanted more. As if reading his thoughts, Nelyna began to go down faster, taking him completely until he reached deep down her throat. She sucked harder and used her hand to squeeze him, she went faster.

His body reacted with hers, moving his hips forward to meet her. Soon enough he came right in her mouth. To his surprise, she didn't back away, she _sucked_ it out. It was the exclamation point to this tryst.

As she stood up she looked him in the eye. "I trust everything was to your satisfaction?" Takashi just nodded. Nelyna looked like she was about to say something else, when she looked back down. "Hmm, seems you're still eager." She was right; his junior was still clamoring for attention. "I did say I wouldn't let you leave here unsatisfied."

She turned around and presented her rear to him. "I believe humans find this position most enjoyable correct?" She lifted up her skirt, revealing both her ass, and the fact that she didn't wear underwear. "Do as you please Commander."

He didn't need to be told twice.

* * *

Emerging in the Presidium's financial district two hours later, Takashi felt loose and full of energy. Not only did he have his next lead, he even got his rocks off. _Didn't think I would ever meet a woman who liked anal so much. _He shook his head; he had a job to focus on.

The building in front of him was one of the few skyscrapers on the Presidium. It was the home office of Norlo-Finch Financial; a volus based company, which was one of the largest and most powerful finance groups in Citadel space. Know for handling everything from stocks and investments to managing personal bank accounts, Norlo-Finch had a large variety of powerful clientele. And Barla Von was on the board of directors.

Barla Von was, simply put, a financial genius. Know across the galaxy as a man who 'knew all the loopholes', Barla was one of the wealthiest people on the Citadel. And according to Sha'ira, he was an agent for the Shadow Broker.

The Shadow Broker was an infamous figure in the galaxy. There were all kind of information dealers in the galaxy, and the Shadow Broker was the best by far. A necessary evil of galactic politics, he sold information to the highest bidder. He wasn't a direct threat to anyone, but rather a resource people could use. The Shadow Broker never picked sides, and all the information handed out never seemed to disrupt the balance of power. No one ever got the upper hand, and the Broker stayed in power.

Honestly, Takashi wasn't surprised Barla worked with the Shadow Broker. One didn't get to be one of the wealthiest people in the galaxy without a little help from the Shadow Broker. He just hoped Barla would be willing to help out. Information was expensive, and he was working on a tight budget.

Entering the building, Shepard was greeted by an enormous lobby made entirely of asari stonework from Thessia itself. With stone columns starching several dozen meters to the sealing, and various water fountains spewing colored water, it seemed like no expense was spared in this building's construction. But that wasn't surprising; volus liked to show off- kind of an inferiority complex the entire species had due to their small stature.

More interesting were the heavily armed body guards all over the place. While he could understand the need for corporate security, this seemed overkill, especially considering the location the office was in. And even more fascinating was the fact that most of the guards were watching his every move like hawks. Did they know who he was? If so, why were they so on guard? Sure he had a reputation, but that didn't mean he was here to start a slaughter.

After being directed by the info desk, Takashi made his way to the elevator and began the long ascent upwards towards Barla Von's office. Looking out the elevator, Takashi could see the entire Presidium spread out in front of him. It made him wonder what Nadana and Sha'ira meant about the 'matriarch who needed saving'. It left him with the impression that there was more going on in this whole Saren thing than either let on. He didn't get much chance to continue his thoughts; the elevator stopped at one of the top floors, and Takashi made his way out towards Barla's office.

He made his way to the receptionist's desk, which was occupied by a volus female currently taking a call. He was about to introduce himself when the Volus woman broke from her call and spoke first. "Commander Shepard? I was told you would be coming. Mr. Von is waiting for you in his office." She pointed to a large stone door behind her, then went straight back to her call.

Well this was interesting. It appeared that Barla was expecting him. _News travels fast here._ Maybe Sha'ira had contacted Barla beforehand, and told him he was coming. Either that, or Barla already knew what he was investigating and was expecting him well before Takashi knew to come here. Considering who Barla worked for, it wasn't much of a stretch. He entered past the large marble doors to see a single rotund volus sitting behind a large metal desk. Behind him was an entire wall made of glass, which showed off the entirety of the Presidium. The volus rose to greet him.

"Commander Shepard, it is an honor to meet you." He said in way of greeting.

"Mr. Von" Shepard said with a bow.

"Please, please, sit down. We have much to discuss."

Taking his seat, Takashi focused on Barla. "I came here thinking I would have to sneak in to see you. Turns out I was expected."

Barla waved the unspoken question off. "I am a man with large ears Commander. When someone on important as your self arrives on this station, I take notice." He leaned back in his chair. "Besides, it wasn't much of a stretch to know what you would be doing with your time here on the Citadel. That was an ugly business on Eden Prime; I hope things turn out well for all involved."

"So you know why I'm here." It wasn't a question.

"I assume you know who I work with, yes?" At Takashi's nod, he continued. "You come looking for information, and information is a precious commodity. However, these are exceptional circumstances. As such, I will give you this information for free."

Takashi raised an eyebrow. "What's the catch? No offence, but you don't seem like the charity type."

"None taken. There is on 'catch' in this. I simply wish to see you succeed. The Shadow Broker is quite angry with Saren right now. They used to do a lot of business together, till Saren turned on him."

"What did Saren do?"

"To my knowledge, a little while back Saren purchased information about the beacon on Eden Prime- mind you this was before the information got through official channels. You know how that all ended up." Barla leaned forward, folding his hands on the table. "What our clients do with their information is their business. Eden Prime is not the problem. The agents involved are the problem. A krogan named Urdnot Wrex is the problem."

"A krogan? What that got to do with all this?"

"Saren knew that eventually, you would look into his involvement on Eden Prime. And he knew that you would find the one thing linking him to the Eden Prime incident: the Shadow Broker's agents he used to get information about it in the first place. I don't know the specifics, but word is that they must have something incriminating about him in regards to the Eden Prime incident. So he decided to destroy those links." Takashi got the hint.

"By hiring this Urdnot Wrex."

"Correct. Several of the Shadow Broker's agents have turned up dead over the past few days. Urdnot Wrex is responsible." Barla leaned back into his chair. "I think you can see how this situation could benefit us both."

Indeed he could. All he had to do was find this Wrex, and tail him until he came in contact with another agent. He would intervene, Wrex would be dead, and Shepard would have his next step to finding tangible evidence. "Where do I find this guy?"

"That's just it: no one has been able to keep an eye on this krogan for long- something I find ironic, considering. Anyone sent to find him has turned up dead. And so, perhaps the 'Butcher of Torfan' will have more success." The implication was clear: _kill Wrex for us, and you get your evidence_. Quid pro quo.

Takashi stood up and bowed. "Thank you for the information. I will see it is put to good use."

Barla Von nodded his head in response. "I should hope so. Good luck Commander. May health and wealth find you."

As he exited the building- still being watched like a hawk by the buildings security force- Takashi heard his comlink chime. He answered it.

"Commander Shepard?" It was Captain Anderson. "Where have you been, the meeting ended a while ago." While he sounded civil enough, there was a dangerous, if curious undertone to his voice.

"I've been chasing leads Captain. Long story short: I think I have a way to prove Saren's a traitor."

The other end of the line was silent for a moment. "Come back to the embassy Shepard. Let's see what can be done about it."

As the call ended, and he made his way to the transportation terminal, Takashi got the sudden sense that he was being followed. Using various counter surveillance methods, he checked to see if anyone was following him. He saw nothing. Even still, he choose to keep his guard up.

He was dealing with rouge Spectre's, the Shadow Broker, and only God knew what else. A degree of caution would undoubtedly be necessary.

_Welcome to the life of a Spectre_, he thought.

* * *

And so ends chapter three. It was a long one wasn't it?

The scene with the Consort was inspired by the story "The Hunt For Saren" by Fast32. Props to him.

Don't forget to review, they make my day.


	4. Misguided Miscreants

Disclaimer: Still don't own anything here.

Chapter Four: Misguided Miscreants

* * *

***

"So let me get this straight" Ambassador Udina began. "Word of the beacon got around long before a few days ago, and Saren used this knowledge to attack Eden Prime?" Takashi nodded. "Then to cover his tracks, he's hired a bounty hunter to kill everyone who knew he was involved?" Takashi nodded once again. Udina pulled a scowl. "Son of a bitch!"

Admiral Hackett just laid back and scratched his chin. "I wonder who the leak was? I find it rather depressing that one of our own may have betrayed us..."

"It may not have been someone in the military Admiral" Anderson quipped. "It could have been someone on Eden Prime who discovered the beacon in the first place. People will do anything for money" he finished with a sigh.

"Still, it doesn't hurt to check. God forbid the leak is someone important..."

"That's not the problem right now" Udina growled out. "Right now, we should be worrying about finding this bounty hunter- this Wrex." He looked to Shepard. "I don't suppose Barla Von told you where we could find this krogan did he?"

Takashi shook his head. "No sir. I believe he meant for me to do all that. He just gave me a name, no description other than telling me he was a krogan."

Udina let out a frustrated sigh. Hackett was the one to speak up. "So what do you plan to do about it?"

"If there are people turning up dead, Citadel Security should be on it. Perhaps one of their agents found something for me to go on."

"If that's the case, there's a man you should look out for" Udina said. "He's a C-Sec officer named Harkin."

Apparently, Hackett and Anderson found that too distasteful. "Harkin?" Anderson exclaimed. "That drunken ass? You expect help from him?"

"We may as well ask a pig for aid" Hackett added snidely. "It'd be a lot better than going to that dick with ears."

Udina was not amused. "Unless either of you know anyone else from C-Sec who will help us out, this is what we got." He turned to the Commander. "You can ask for Harkin at the C-Sec headquarters. They'll tell you how to contact him."

With that, the meeting ended. It was already 1600, well into the Presidium's night cycle. Udina and Hackett went about more business, burning the midnight oil, while Captain Anderson and Takashi headed back for the Normandy to rest. The day's events took a lot out of both of them.

* * *

***

Several hours later, a refreshed Takashi strolled down one of the Presidium's many walkways toward the tram station that would take him to the wards. After speaking with one of C-Sec's representatives at their headquarters, they told him that Harkin had been suspended from the force for some violation. And since he wasn't on duty, they didn't know his current whereabouts. However, they mentioned that he liked to hang out at many of the Wards several clubs. A place called Flux had been mentioned, and so here he was.

No longer required to wear full military dress, he went out in military issue 'civvies'. Black t-shirt, black denim/silk jeans, and a simple pair of white sneakers. To top it off, he wore a white flight jacket that displayed his rank and call number N7.

In terms of weaponry, all he had currently were -aside from the twin atomic blades hidden in his sleeves- two Kassa Fabrication manufactured Edge 57 heavy pistols. The Citadel did not allow automatic weapons on the station without proper permits. As such, only specially licensed companies- like Norlo-Finch, and government agencies like the embassies and C-Sec had guards equipped with them. Anyone else with automatic weaponry was criminals and gangsters, and C-Sec showed no mercy to those who disturbed the peace.

Not that it mattered to him anyway. With his biotics, the twin blades, his high quality pistols, and his spec-ops omni-tool, Takashi needed nothing else.

That and the fact that people looked at you kind of strange when you go gallivanting around giant cities like the Wards and Presidium decked out in full armor with automatic weapons on your back. He didn't need any extra attention.

As he arrived at the train station, he thought back to his visit to C-Sec Central. While they had been helpful in explaining about what happened to Harkin, they were rather mum and evasive about any reports about a series of murders over the past few days. This meant that there was probably something going on, but no one was saying anything about it. C-Sec protocol demanded that no officer comment about ongoing investigations, but practically everyone in the force broke this rule, for one reason or another. So the fact that Takashi hadn't managed to get anything out of the representatives he spoke to said volumes.

_Someone high up must be making sure as few people as possible know about this,_ he thought. It could be the Shadow Broker; he stood to gain the most by keeping this under wraps. It was bad for any kind business when word got out that your agents were dying.

Regardless of who it was, he made every intention of watching his back for the duration of his stay here. He was delving into the secrets of powerful people, and when threatened, they tended to throw that power around to ensure survival.

Soon enough the tram arrived, and Takashi got on board with the throng of other passengers. Declining to take a seat, he stood with his back against a glass panel, choosing to look out at the passing Presidium. It was amazing to see an entire city placed in such a lush forested area. Placing skyscrapers in the middle of a forest without disturbing the surrounding environment was still something new to humanity.

It was as the tram began to make the transition from the Presidium to the Wards; Takashi felt the hair on the back is neck stand up on end. He knew the feeling. _Something's wrong._ Without turning around and giving himself away, he used the window's reflective surface to scan the train car. Nothing leaped out at him; the car was filled with seeming ordinary passengers on their way to their destinations.

That did nothing to assuage him. He knew to trust his instincts. _These guys must be good if they can be this discrete. _

It wasn't all that difficult to assume that he was being watched and followed. A lot of people had a stake in what he was doing. Could it be some of the Shadow Brokers men? Was the Council keeping an eye on him to see what he would do? Or were they Saren's men, hired to take him out before he could cause trouble? None of those options offered any solace.

Regardless of whom they were or what their intentions were, nothing good could come out of being followed like this. He needed his full attention on his investigation, and couldn't afford to keep peering over his shoulder to see who was there. Neither could he simply ignore them, lest they interrupt at some critical point.

He had to lose them. _Or kill them._ This would be difficult seeing as how he didn't know who they were. They could be anyone on this train. Takashi sighed to himself. _It's never easy is it? _

It took about twenty minuets for the train to reach its destination. Calmly walking out in front of the other passengers, he brought his omni-tool up and began his work.

He didn't have to look over his shoulder to see who was following him. Far better for him to simply hack into the surrounding security cameras and use those as his eyes. It took him only a few seconds to bypass the camera's weak anti-intrusion systems, and soon he was rewarded with several different screens of the tram terminal.

Most of the people there seemed to pay him no mind. The cameras showed that the vast majority were too busy trying to navigate their way through the mass of people on their way to their respective destinations.

Multitasking by navigating the throng and watching his omni-tool, he kept scanning the screens for what was following him. It took a few seconds but he got it: two turians who despite their best efforts gave themselves away by focusing solely on him. The sheer mass of people made it impossible for them to keep track of him while appearing inconspicuous. A few more scans showed four additional turians mirroring their motions.

_Six turians?_ Takashi's first thought was Saren, but he wasn't so sure. Plenty of people hired turian mercenaries to do their dirty work. There was only one way to find out at this point. _Best to lead them off someplace secluded before I can interrogate them._ He didn't want to cause a public disturbance by slaughtering them in public. _Last thing I need is C-Sec after me._

Moving threw the entrance to the Tramway terminal, Takashi immediately took off to his right, slipping around the multitude of people with practiced ease. He had his time on Omega to thank for that, allowing him to weave around people without so much as a bump, while subconsciously scanning nearby alleyways for a good ambush point.

He didn't bother looking over his shoulder to see if they were following him. He was going to keep moving until he found a comfortable place to strike. If they lost him, it would be just as well. If not, they would die. One way or another, he would lose them.

After a few more minuets of running, he finally found a suitable alleyway- one with a wide space between two moderate sized buildings with lots of random objects he could exploit. _Perfect._ Turning into the alley, he went a few feet in before biotically jumping up twenty meters to one of the roofs. Once there, he crouched down and waited for his prey.

He didn't allow himself to admire the 'open' space above him that showed the entirety of the Serpent Nebula. As beautiful as it was, his full attention was needed here. Chances were that these turians knew who he was, and also knew that he wouldn't run without specific reason. They had to know they were walking in a trap. They would be cautious, looking for ways to turn his trap against him.

_Traps work both ways,_ he thought. It was a principle he used for as long as he could remember, and it had always proved true. Takashi had no desire to see that fact turned against him.

His patience was soon rewarded as two turians he recognized from the terminal quietly slipped into the alleyway, pistols drawn. He noted that only two of six were moving in, the others most likely were taking up positions around the two buildings as to try and trap and surround him. It would prove to be a useless gesture, as he had a plan to turn their discipline against them.

From the way they moved, to the way they tracked him; everything about them screamed 'military training'. And one thing about the turian military was that they didn't abandon their comrades for any reason. He would use that to draw the others out.

The two turians were moving down the alley back to back, eyes and pistols sweeping the area for where he might be. When they were deep enough in the alleyway, Takashi struck.

Bringing his omni-tool to bear, he brought an algorithm program to the forefront. In an instant, his wrist device had successfully managed to infiltrate and alter their shield systems. He didn't bring them down all the way, as the two would physically notice something was wrong. Takashi just brought them down to the edge of nonexistence, while fooling their systems into thinking everything was green.

They were helpless and they didn't even know it.

Biotically picking up a small baseball sized piece of shrapnel he found in the alley earlier, he telekinetically sent it hurling towards the second turian sweeping the alley. The merc turned just in time to see it slam its way into his throat. Coughing up blood, and letting out a death gurgle, he fell over dead in moments. His companion turned to see what the problem was. Only to find another piece of shrapnel lodge itself into his brain moments later. He slumped forward, just as dead as his companion.

_All too easy. _It was time for phase two of his plan.

Working his omni-tool, he hacked into the two dead turians omni-tool systems. Using theirs as a proxy, he sent out a distress signal to the other four turians, saying that the two were down but still alive. Once again, it became about patience.

Soon enough, his radar detected the remaining four: two coming up from the opposite end of the alleyway, and two taking up position on the roof of the building opposite of his. Now exposed to him, Takashi made his move.

Telekinetically taking hold of the two turians on the opposing building, he pulled them forward violently, sending over the edge. They cried out for a short time, before they splattered on the pavement twenty meters below. Their two remaining comrades looked on in surprise, before turning skyward to see what happened.

They looked up just in time to see Takashi descend from the sky like a bird of pray, atomic blade in hand. The leftmost turian opened his mouth in shock, just before Takashi sunk his blade in the merc's throat. The turian spewed out a stream of black blood and collapsed to the ground, dead.

The last merc raised his pistol, but soon found himself hurled violently into the building wall behind him. He slumped to the ground dazed. Both confused and defeated, he raised his head to face the white haired human.

"So" Takashi began. "Why don't you sing a little for me? About who sent you." When the turian made no reply, Takashi, just sighed. "Guess we have to do this the hard way."

* * *

***

Twenty minuets later Takashi emerged from the alleyway, hands in his pockets, and looking like he didn't have a care in the world. If one had looked behind him, they would have seen a sight that made strong men tremble: a turian that looked like it had been thrown in a giant blender. Blood and gore where everywhere; Takashi had been merciless to the alien.

His turian _friend_ did not give up his secrets easy. Indeed, Takashi had to cut several tendons and telekinetically slice a few internal organs before the merc began to speak truth. What was disappointing was that the turian didn't know much. The turian and his buddies were typical low level mercenaries that were found everywhere in the galaxy. They had been on the Citadel when they received an initial payment along with his description, with the orders to find him and kill him. If anyone knew who made the payment, it wasn't this guy: among the six, he was the new chap.

As he made his way down a wide active thoroughfare, Takashi's thoughts turned to who sent the thugs after him. _It has to be Saren, or one of his lackeys. No one else right now wants me dead._ Well that wasn't entirely true. There were plenty of people in the galaxy who would love nothing more than to see his head on a stick. But even still, the timing was certainly pointing to Saren.

Taking a few minuets to consult a few area maps, Takashi eventually found himself standing in front of a bustling club with the word 'Flux' shining in neon lights. _This place is certainly lively, _he noted to himself. From the multitude of people going in and out, to the loud 'flip' music playing inside, it was easy to see how popular the place was. He made his way inside.

Immediately he was bombarded by flashing lights and all kinds of different sounds. Taking a few moments to familiarize himself to his new surroundings, he took a look around the club.

In front of him was a colossal open space, filled with what had to be dozens of tables, all of which seemed to be occupied. To his right was an enormous dais, of which was covered by various species dancing to the loud music. Above him on the second floor, was an entire casino, likewise filled with people placing bets and having a good time.

_Forget lively,_ Takashi thought, _this place is vigorous'._ Sadly though, it was going to be difficult finding Harkin in this mess- if he was here at all. He didn't bother checking the crowds; even with his enhanced eyesight, keeping track of who came in and who left while simultaneously scanning the joint would be impossible.

Takashi sighed to himself. _Why couldn't Harkin like to hang out at small quiet teahouses?_ But if that were the case, Harkin probably wouldn't have been a drunken loser, and that was apparently part of his 'charm'. Shaking his head, Takashi made his way over to the long bar at the other end of the club, while keeping an eye out at the tables around him. Harkin could be sitting close by after all. That proved fruitless as Takashi didn't see him, and as such walked up to the bar.

If Harkin was known enough by C-Sec reps to hang out at clubs like this, perhaps someone who worked here could provide more information as to his current whereabouts. He was about to go up to the salarian who was working this section of the bar when he felt someone coming up on his back. Turning sharply, with one hand moving towards one of his pistols, he confronted his shadow. Said shadow turned out to be a small, cute Oriental human woman who looked rather shocked at Takashi's sudden movement.

"Um, I'm sorry…" she began in a timid voice.

Takashi didn't let up his stance. He had already been attacked once today. "Who are you? And what do you want?"

"My name is Emily Wong" the woman said quickly. "I just wanted to talk to you for a few minuets."

The woman didn't look threatening, but that didn't tell Takashi much. All the same, he humored this Emily and relaxed his stance, though he kept his guard up. "So talk" he said.

Emily looked visibly relaxed, and moved to join him at the bar. "As I said, my name is Emily Wong. I'm an investigative journalist here on the Citadel. I was hoping you could help me."

Takashi raised an eyebrow. "I assume you know who I am. What could I help you with?"

"I'm investigating reports of criminal syndicates here on the Citadel. However it's been slow going; there are places I can't go without putting myself at risk, and those who may be connected won't talk to me. I need help."

"That's a shame, but why should I help you? I have my own problems."

"I know you're looking into your own investigation, that's why I came to you. If you're here on the Citadel, it must be for something big. I was hoping that you would share whatever you came across with me."

Takashi looked hard at her. "What makes you think I'm investigating anything?"

Emily just waved him off. "I'm a journalist Commander, word gets around." When Takashi's stare didn't let up, she sighed. "I know you were involved in what happened on Eden Prime, and I know you meet with the Council. I also know that afterwards you meet with the Consort and one Barla Von." She paused to look him straight in the eye. "You're into something Commander, and I'm not the only one who knows it."

Takashi didn't say anything for a while; once again, it was disheartening to know how fast news got around here. "So what if I'm looking into a few things? What does that have to do with you?"

"As I said, you wouldn't be involved if it wasn't something big. And here on the Citadel, that would be wide spread corruption. Let me in on it, and I'll pay you for your services."

Takashi suddenly had an idea. "I might be able to do something. However, I have a question. Have you heard anything about a series of murders lately?"

"What kind of murders? People die all the time, even here on the Citadel."

"There would have been several, perhaps committed by one person. They would have been killed very recently, a few days ago at most."

Emily looked thoughtful for a moment. "Now that you mention it, I've heard a few whispers that a couple of people have been killed in the last couple of days. People have been rather mum about it though."

"Is it peculiar that no one's saying anything?"

"Yes and no. Yes in the sense that people who usually talk aren't doing so now. Either there is some incentive to keeping their mouths shut, or something's got them very scared."

"Or someone" Takashi finished for her. "You said yes _and_ no. What's the no portion?"

"Well from what I gathered, the murders have been assassination style. Very brutal. People are scared, so in that sense it isn't unusual. But still…"

"Something's abnormal" Takashi once again finished for her. This was it; perhaps this attractive reporter could be of use to him after all. "You know where these murders took place?"

"They were all over the place. Some in the Alpha Wards, others in the Gamma section. The only thing weird is how no one is saying anything."

"What about the victims themselves, who were they?"

"I have the names written down somewhere, but I don't have the information on me." Emily paused, and a smile slowly made its way on to her face. "I could get the information for you… if you help me out. Favor for a favor?"

"Done. Where and when do you want to meet up?"

"How about here, tonight? We can trade info and details over dinner."

_Over dinner, _Takashi thought. _Is she asking me out on a date?_ Regardless, the names of the previous victims would help him track Wrex and kill him. "Sure. Dinner sounds fine to me."

Emily beamed. "Great! I'll see you there!" With that she gave a small bow and made her way out. Takashi watched her go with interest. _What a strange woman._

Though now he wondered what his next move should be. If Emily was to be believed, she had the information he wanted from Harkin, and as such Takashi didn't need to track down the bum. However it was still around 1200 and his _date _with Emily didn't start until tonight. If there was one thing he was bad at, it was killing time. He was pulled from his musings when a rotund volus behind the bar moved opposite of him.

"Hello sir, what can I get you?"

Takashi just slumped forward. "Got anything non-alcoholic? Like Juma-Cola?"

The volus nodded. "I'll get you a bottle." He was about to walk off when a turian took his place right next to Shepard and stopped him.

"Get me a glass of _elasa_ as well" the new turian said.

"Um… sure" was all the volus said before moving on. Takashi took the moment to study his new drinking buddy out of the corner of his eye. He was a young turian male with golden-silver scales, and blue markings on his face. But what really drew Takashi's attention was the clothing he was wearing. The turian was garbed in the dark blue and black of C-Sec. On the turians jacket, he could make out the insignia, as well as the gun holster he kept under it.

_Oh crap._ He really hoped this wasn't about those six turians he butchered a little while ago. He really didn't fancy ending up in detention, nor did he want to stir up shit with C-Sec. He had enough on his plate already.

_Maybe he has nothing to do with me,_ Takashi thought. But that was shot down when the turian turned to look at him. "Commander Shepard? Garrus Vakarian, Citadel Security Investigation unit. I was hoping to talk to you for a bit."

Takashi let out a chuckle. "Everyone seems to want to talk to me today. What is it you want to discuss?"

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with Ms Wong, about a couple of recent killings in the Wards. That was interesting, as I am also interested in that particular area. However, I'm a detective here with C-Sec, so my interest is justified. I can't help but wonder, what's your interest in all this?"

Takashi kept his face nonaligned. "Oh I'm just a concerned citizen worried about the safety of the denizens on this great station." _Maybe that will make him go away._

Unfortunately that wasn't the case. It could not have been physically possible for Garrus to sound less convinced. "Really? You're that generous and munificent?"

"Sure. Don't bother to believe those nasty rumors about me. For the record, I don't like to rape nubile women, kill innocent kittens for fun, nor do I eat newborn babies for breakfast. I actually quite pleasant."

"Hmm" Garrus replied. "So you're not an assassin Barla Von hired to kill someone?"

If he was expecting a reaction, Shepard wasn't going to give him one. "Why would you think that?" _How the hell did he find that out?_

Garrus shrugged. "I have my sources. Don't get the wrong idea; if you are what I think you are, I'm not going to bring you in."

Now that was interesting. "Hypothetically speaking, if I were an assassin about to commit murder, would it not be your duty to bring me in?"

"Technically yes" Garrus said as he turned back towards the bar. "However I've been around C-Sec enough to know that sometimes our policies and procedures can sometimes be a detriment to keeping the peace." Though his face remained the same, Takashi could pick up trace amounts of irritation and bitterness in the young turian officer. _Interesting._

"So is that all you came here to talk about?" Takashi asked out of curiosity. "What's your interest in these killings; you the detective working the case?"

"No, I'm just following a hunch" Garrus replied. "The council rejected my last investigation due to lack of evidence, so maybe this will prove fruitful enough to reopen the case."

"What was your last investigation about?"

"Believe it or not, I was looking into Spectre Agent Saren Arterius recent actions for the Council."

Now that got Shepard's attention. "You were looking into Saren? What for?"

"I can't go into specifics, but suffice to say, my superiors made it clear that the Council was very interested to see the result of what I could bring up."

Now things where starting to make sense. That was the reason the Council wasn't all that surprised to hear the Alliance's accusations against Saren at the meeting: they already had their own suspicions about him.

"So you couldn't find anything concrete, and now your hoping that this case will be enough to force the Council into action. Am I right?"

"Basically" Garrus answered with a shrug. "This is why I'm eager to see what Miss Wong turns up. My fellow C-Sec officers won't divulge anything pertaining to the case, so perhaps she can provide the next step."

Takashi just raised an eyebrow. "Plan on inviting yourself on my date huh?"

Garrus just smiled in response. "I wouldn't dream of it. I'll just be close by, listening in like a pervert."

Takashi was about to reply when a gun shot rang out behind the bar in the kitchens, followed by a female scream. Takashi and Garrus, followed by a few others, jumped over the bar and rushed to the back room to see what happened.

It wasn't a pretty sight. The volus bartender that had taken their orders was lying on the ground, bleeding from a wound to the forehead. Kneeling next to him was a young red headed human woman, crying profusely. And standing over both of them was a menacing krogan holding a large pistol.

Even though he didn't know all the details, something told him just who this krogan was. _Urdnot Wrex._ His prey was at hand.

The krogan reacted to their presence instantly. He raised his pistol, preparing to fire. Mirroring his actions, Garrus went for his own pistol, while the brave souls who followed the two of them in dropped to the ground. Before the two aliens could act however, Takashi moved forward. With a sharp jab of his hand, he sent a telekinetic blast hurling towards the krogan. In the enclosed space Wrex had no place to maneuver, and as such was blown right out the door and into the street.

Takashi turned to Garrus. "I'll deal with the krogan, you take of these two." Without waiting for a response, he dashed out, drawing his two pistols in preparation for combat. However as he stepped outside, the krogan Wrex was already moving away out the back alley and into the main streets. Takashi immediately sprang into action and gave pursuit.

For a large lumbering beast, Wrex moved rather quickly with surprising grace. And for the krogan's benefit, the crowd jumped out of his way as he plodded through the mass thoroughfare. That meant that Takashi was left to trudge through the clumped mess left in his wake. Not for the first was Shepard thankful for his time spent free-running on Omega. He was still able to slide his way threw the crowd, eyes locked on Wrex's back.

Wrex, perhaps sensing that Shepard was catching up to him, blindly fired his pistol behind him. In response, Takashi had to roll and evade while the crowd around him went into a panic. As if things weren't hard enough, now he had to track Wrex through a panicked mob. Springing to his feet, he shot after Wrex once again, relying on his 'undercover' kinetic shields and his enhanced reflexes to help him evade Wrex's gunfire.

When the krogan finally moved out of a busy street and into a large open plaza, Takashi took the initiative and opened fire.

Duel wielding was not a difficult thing in the late twenty-second century. With genetic enhancements, recoil dampers, and other forms of technology, duel wielding small arms was easily possible, unlike several centuries ago. With his enhanced strength and his biotics to mitigate whatever recoil his gun let off, firing two pistols at the same time was child's play for Shepard.

Not caring that there were civilians around the krogan, Takashi continued to pour fire down the krogan's back as it tried to escape. He was rewarded when a few shots finally manage to slip threw the krogan's shields and pierce his armor. Even though he was a meters away, Shepard could see the dark blood spilling to the ground. Sensing weakness, Takashi increased his rate of fire, ignoring the fact that Wrex had slipped back into a panicked running mob eager to get away from the violence. A few civilians looked like they were hit from his and Wrex's exchange, but he paid them no mind.

Dodging Wrex's blind fire, while simultaneously weaving through the crowd, Takashi got a bead on the krogan's back. Pulling the trigger, he was surprised to see a blue translucent field spring around the krogan, stopping his hyper-kinetic rounds in their tracks.

_A krogan biotic,_ he though. _Huh. This makes things more interesting._

He had to admit, this whole chase was proving to be quite the rush for him. Getting into a gun battle in the midst of a busy city street wasn't something that happened everyday on the Citadel. Indeed, in the background he could hear the sound of several sirens announcing C-Sec's coming presence.

_I have to move this fight off the street, lest we both get arrested._

Apparently Wrex was thinking the exact same thing, as he changed course and made a bee line straight for the nearest Tramway station. Reaching the steps, the krogan turned, produced another pistol, and let loose fire in Takashi's general direction. All the while, he moved backwards up the steps, in a calm steady retreat.

While he had no trouble avoiding the krogan's erratic fire, the crowd around him wasn't so lucky. One human had his head blown off, and he could see an asari and a hanar not far from him riddled with bullet holes. _C-Sec better not blame me for this…_ Chances were that when they found out who and what happened here, they weren't going to show him much in terms of leeway more than they would Wrex. As he took brief cover behind one of the walls next to the stairwell, Takashi made a mental note to give Wrex a few swift kicks to the balls. _Bastard's probably numb down there, just like the rest of his_ _neutered species…_

Taking a few seconds to let the gunfire move past him, he turned out of cover guns at the ready to fire. But Wrex had already reached the top and was already rushing into enter the now departing train. Takashi pulled a frown as the tram began to depart the station.

Accessing his biotics, Shepard began making telekinetic jumps to bound up the stairs as quickly as possible. Reaching the top, he made one final jump, landing on the very last tram-car's roof. Taking a few moments to orient himself, he crawled forward and slid down between the car gaps.

A quick peer into the car in front of him showed Wrex calmingly leaning against the wall, probably thinking he was safe from harm. Getting a good line of fire, Takashi brought his pistols to the window and opened fire.

Much to his pleasure, the giant _lizard_ didn't even know what hit it. Most of his shot's were absorbed by the krogan's recharged kinetic barriers, but a few seemed to slam home and penetrate the light armor. Takashi's victory was short lived however; as the krogan brought his own guns to bare and returned fire, forcing the Spectre hopeful to take cover. After a few seconds of remaining in cover, Takashi sprang up and into the tram car- only to see the krogan force open one of the side doors and jump out.

Rushing to where Wrex had been, Takashi arrived just in time to see the krogan use his biotic abilities to slow his rate of descent and drop into a roll on a nearby platform. The krogan then sprang to his feet and speed down the new alleyway.

Preparing to jump himself- he had to, lest the speeding tram get to far from Wrex- he noticed a small beeping sound at his feet. Looking down, he saw what he could only describe a small bomb wrapped with appeared to be a bandolier of grenades. And it looked as if it were about to go off.

Takashi narrowed his eyes and pulled a frown. _Shit._

The tram car exploded a few seconds later; sending flaming shrapnel everywhere and sending the civilians bellow into a panic.

* * *

***

All things considered, Urdnot Wrex was having a humiliating day.

It had been a simple matter killing the volus named Doran; the weak, simpering entrepreneur only managed to turn and look in fear as Wrex put a round right between his eyes. He had been about to kill the weak human girl next to him, but the arrival of the turian C-Sec officer and the white haired human changed all that.

At first he thought to just killing them all; a feat such as that would greatly boost his reputation. But when the turian matched him move for move, and then finding out the human was biotic… Wrex knew when he was outgunned. And so he chose to flee the scene and move on to his next target.

Much to his annoyance, the white haired alien was hot on his tracks. And to add to his chagrin, the alien even managed to draw first blood on him. Him! He felt disgusted with himself as he was forced to take flee into a tram to get away. As he leaned against the train wall ignoring his few injuries, he suppressed the feeling of shame and humiliation. He had two more targets to kill, and he needed focus.

So imagine his surprise when the white haired alien suddenly pops up and draws _even more_ of his blood. Deciding to retreat _once again_, the krogan leapt out the tram, but not before leaving a gift for his alien pursuer.

And so as he ran down the back alleyway, a smile stretched across his face when he heard his 'package' go off.

_Take that you white haired turian's bitch,_ he thought.

Deciding he was in the clear, he brought his omni-tool up and activated his vehicle's autopilot function, and called it to him. The sooner he moved on to his next target, the better.

Filtering through his omni-tool, he looked at the file he filched from Doran's office before he killed him. Not only did it have the names of his two final targets, but it also had some of what his client had asked for him to find.

_Glad to see that whole Flux fiasco had some upside to it_, he thought as he closed the file. He turned…

…only to get a telekinetic blast in the gut for his troubles.

Wrex was hurled like a leaf caught in a hurricane gale, and was flung several meters out of the alleyway and into an empty street. Landing heavily on his stomach, the krogan let out a pained grunt.

_Felt like I just got hit by a truck,_ he thought. He looked up, and dropped his jaw in surprise.

Walking towards him was the white haired alien, looking none the worse for the wear. Apparently, his gift didn't do what it intended to do.

"Urdnot Wrex, I presume" the alien drawled out.

Wrex didn't respond. Instead, he unleashed as much biotic power as he could. Biotically lifting a nearby car, he hurled with as much force as he was able at the human. It made a bee line straight at it, and Wrex felt hope spark in his system.

The white haired alien just held up a hand, and the car stopped midair just a few feet from the human. With a dismissive flick of his hand, the alien sent Wrex's projectile flying away into the distance. So far even that it left the Citadel's atmosphere and started floating away into the Serpent Nebula. Wrex felt his jaw drop even further.

_What the hell have I run into?_

His thoughts were interrupted as the human sent another biotic burst into his chest, slamming him into one of the cars on the street. The car shuttered under the pressure, and Wrex felt the hump on his back rupture slightly.

He didn't have much time to react any further, as the human walked up to him and held up a hand. Wrex felt a telekinetic grip tighten around his throat, and he was lifted off the ground. Wrex could only gurgle as oxygen was being cut off. To make matters worse, the human pulled out a pistol and fired two shots.

Straight into his groin.

Wrex would have cried out in pain, had the human not have him in a telekinetic chokehold. _How the hell am I going to get out of this?_ he thought. The answer came quick: his car! It was arriving on auto pilot. He just needed a few moments to wait for it to arrive. He needed to buy some time.

To his surprise he felt the hold on his neck lessen, and air rushed back into his lungs. He was still held up in the air though.

"So you mind telling me what you're after?" the human asked.

Wrex gave the human a sardonic smile. "I was hired to do a job. What about you? A good citizen?" It was only then did Wrex notice the human's clothing. On his jacket, Wrex could make out several distinguishing icons. "Alliance Special Ops?"

The human ignored his remark. "I was asked to take you out. You pissed off some powerful people."

Wrex only snorted derisively at the human. "Never thought I would see the day an Alliance officer would take up arms with that bastard Saren" he said.

"What are you talking about?" the human asked. "You're the one who took up arms with Saren, not me."

"What gave you that impression? The Shadow Broker hired me, not Saren." _Just a little bit longer._ He could see the car coming towards him. He gathered his biotics for one final effort.

The human narrowed his eyes at him. "What? The Shadow Broker?" It was then that Wrex saw his chance. Throwing his arm out, he sent a telekinetic push out to the human. The white haired alien was distracted, and as such was thrown back a dozen feet before tumbling to the ground. As the human rolled to his feet, he looked up just in time to see Wrex escape in his vehicle.

To Wrex's final surprise, the human did not give chase.

* * *

***

Takashi soon found himself at the back entrance to Flux, his thoughts racing.

The krogan said he was working for the Shadow Broker, not Saren. He could have been lying, but for some reason Takashi believed him. But why would the Shadow Broker hire a bounty hunter to kill his own agents?

A startling thought came to him. _Unless however…_

His thoughts were broken as he saw Garrus coming towards him, with Emily Wong in tow.

"You get that krogan?" the turian asked.

"I caught up to him and we exchanged a few words, but in the end he managed to get away" Shepard answered him. "Said he was hired by the Shadow Broker to take those people out."

"That kind of matches up to what I found out" Emily quipped. "I found some intel on those people you wanted looking into."

That got Garrus and Takashi's attention. "What did you find out?" the turian C-Sec detective asked.

"I was going back to my apartment when I got a call from one of my informants. Apparently, there was some kind of chaos going on at the crime scene of the victim before this one. I went to check it out, and found out that there had been some kind of gun battle. Apparently, there was some young quarian girl involved."

"Go on" Takashi urged.

"I don't know all the details, but C-Sec found some kind of OSD in the vic's crime scene." Emily adopted a sly smile on her face. "When they weren't looking, I copied the files. Most of it's still encrypted, but I got some of it off. Supposedly, this guy worked for the Shadow Broker, and was set up to meet with a quarian woman today. Of course he was killed yesterday, so the meeting never took place. But what's really interesting is that he wasn't buying this info for the Shadow Broker but for someone else. At least that's what I gather from what he put down"

"He was working for Saren then" Takashi remarked. "Did it say anything else?"

"The rest is still encrypted" Emily answered with a shake of her head. "It will take me a bit longer to crack the data."

"Even still, this gives us the next step" Garrus remarked. "This quarian is involved; we need to find her."

"That won't be easy" Emily imputed. "This station is huge; she could be anywhere."

"Not quite" Takashi answered her. "If she was there to meet a contact with the Shadow Broker, she might still be trying to get in contact with him." He turned to Garrus, "Is there any place in that area where one could go to set up a meeting with a Broker agent?"

"I think I might know just the place" he said with a small smile.

* * *

***

"You should have told me you were taking me to a strip club" Takashi remarked.

"And ruin the surprise?" Garrus replied with a smirk.

Chora's Den was one of the liveliest places to be on the Gamma Ward. Owned by a rather scrupulous human by the name of Bartholomew Fist, the place was a popular watering hole for sex crazed men all over the Citadel. It was known as a place where guys could relax with cheap drinks and get good _views_.

Indeed, as soon as they entered, Garrus and Takashi were bombarded with loud music and the smell of cheap booze. Only the sight of near naked human and asari woman kept him from rising to much trouble with his turian partner.

_When this is over, I might just come back here for a private show_, he thought. His visit to the Consort's residence only temporarily satisfied his sexual hunger. _I wonder how much it cost to sleep with these women? Probably not much, if the cost of everything else here is to go by._

Still, according to Garrus, this place was also a good meeting place for those on the down low, and it was relatively close to the last place the quarian was spotted.

He pushed those thoughts out of his mind as he and Garrus walked up to the bar in the middle of the club. To his surprise, the woman working there looked identical to the red headed woman he saw in Flux. _Twins maybe?_

"Excuse me miss" Garrus greeted. "But have you seen a young quarian woman around here recently?"

"A quarian woman?" the female bartender asked. "Yeah, she limped in here a few hours ago. Why?"

Garrus and Takashi exchanged a glance before turning to the woman. "Where is she now?" Shepard asked.

She was about to answer when she got a ring from her omni-tool. "Excuse me for a minute" she said before walking off.

"Garrus Vakarian" a voice said next to them. "And what appears to be Takashi Shepard. Huh."

The two men turned to see a balding middle aged man slumped over the bar with a bottle of alcohol in his hands. Takashi recognized him straight away. "Officer Harkin."

"You know me?" Harkin replied.

"Your _reputation _precedes you."

"Huh, figures. It's what I get for joining the goddamned Citadel Security. Biggest mistake of my life."

"I hear you got suspended from the force, something about 'recurring violations'."

"It was damn witch-hunt is what it was" Harkin replied with a snarl. "C-Sec was keeping a file on me, can you believe that? You have a little drink on duty; note in the file. You rough up a few suspects in custody; note in the file. You skim a few credits of a drug bust; note in the file. You get caught jerking off at your desk; note in the file. It's a load of bullshit if you ask me."

"You got off easy if you ask me" Garrus snarled out.

"What would you know about it you simpering lackey" Harkin shot back. "Besides, shouldn't you be looking for that quarian woman?"

"You know her?" Takashi asked.

"I helped her out when she came through here a while ago."

"So where is she now?"

Harkin turned back to the bar. "Now I could tell you. But you have to make it worth my while" he finished with a smirk.

Both Garrus and Takashi looked at him with narrowed eyes. "What?"

"You heard me" Harkin said. "You want the info, better fork over some cash."

"We're not paying you anything you drunken asshole" Garrus ground out as his fists tightened.

"Well I guess your not going to find anything out now, are you bitch?" Harkin said with a laugh.

That was the last straw for Garrus apparently.

Moving forward, he grabbed Harkin's head and slammed it into the countertop. As Harkin slumped to the ground, he picked him up by his collar, threw him on to the countertop, and drew his gun.

"Listen you piece of krogan-shit" he snarled out as he put the gun to Harkins head. "You're going to tell me what I want to know, because if you don't, I'm going to blow your _fucking head off!_"

The other patrons of the bar were decidedly ignoring them. They knew better than to get involved.

"Easy man" Harkin said through a bloody nose. "That quarian you're looking for came in here with a gunshot wound, was looking for a place to patch herself up."

"Where is she now?" Takashi asked.

"I told her to go to Dr. Michelle's clinic near here. She left without another word."

With that, Garrus let him go and turned to Takashi. "I know where that clinic is, let's go."

The two men exited the bar, leaving Harkin on the ground and a host of confused patrons in their wake.

* * *

***

Thanks to a ride from Emily, the three arrived at Dr. Michelle's clinic in minuets. But as they got close, something seemed off.

"That's strange" Emily said as she pulled up to the curve. "I'm pretty sure the clinic would still be open…"

Garrus pulled out his pistol. "It should be."

Emily looked at the gun with widened eyes. "Uh… are we expecting trouble…?"

As they got out of the car, Takashi drew his own pistols. "We're always expecting trouble." With that, the three moved up to the clinic to see what was wrong.

The first thing they noticed was that despite the clinic looking shut down, the front door was unlocked. Trading glances, Takashi and Garrus moved forward into the clinic with Emily in tow. The front lobby was completely shrouded in darkness. The only source of light came from upstairs in the back. With saying a word, the three moved silently up, and soon enough they began to hear voices in the back room.

Motioning for Emily to stay put, Garrus and Takashi moved into the room ninja-like, as not to announce their presence. Garrus moved to the left, crouching down to get a good shot. Takashi stood in the middle, standing perfectly to get a bead on the three to the right.

An attractive red headed woman in medic dress was standing behind a desk, facing two men with guns drawn. Next to them, three additional men stood as support.

"But I didn't say anything to anyone, I swear!" the woman pleaded.

"That's smart" one of the thugs said. "And if a white haired human and a turian cop come sniffing around here, you stay smart. Or we'll…" He never finished his sentence. Garrus opened fire, and he and his companion slumped to the ground dead with holes in their head.

Dr Michelle gave out a startled cry as the other three turned to Garrus. That was a big mistake, as they didn't notice Shepard coming up on their side. Bringing his pistols up lazily, he fired three shots, and was rewarded with the sight of seeing their head explode in a shower of blood and gore.

Just like that, it was over.

"That's it" Shepard said, putting his guns away. "Bag em' and tag em'."

"Wow" Emily remarked as she came in behind them. "That was fast."

Garrus moved to Dr. Michelle. "Doctor, are you hurt?"

Michelle shook her head in the negative. "No, I'm fine." Her voice had a shaky feel to it, no doubt due to the last few minuets. "Thanks for the help."

"I know those men threatened you" Shepard replied as he an Emily joined the other two. "But if you tell us who they work for, we can protect you."

"They work for Fist. They wanted to shut me up, to prevent me from telling you about the quarian."

"And the quarian? Where is she now?" Garrus asked.

"When she told me what happened to her, I put her in contact with Fist. He's an agent for the Shadow Broker."

"But is he an agent for the Shadow Broker, or for Saren I wonder?" Takashi thought.

"Probably Saren" Emily quipped. "If these thugs came by to threaten Doc Michelle here, that means they're probably with Saren now. They betrayed the Shadow Broker like the others."

"Fist betrayed the Shadow Broker" Michelle said in surprise. "That's stupid even for him. This Saren must have made him quite the offer."

"Saren is somehow causing a lot of people to betray lately." Takashi told her.

"She must have something Saren wants" Garrus inputted. "Did she say anything about evidence or Saren?"

Dr. Michelle was quite a moment before speaking up. "Geth!" she exclaimed. "She said her evidence had something to do with the Geth!"

"That quarian must have something that connects Saren to the Geth" Garrus said excitedly. "There's no way the Council can ignore this!"

"But we don't have anything yet" Emily countered. "Fist is the one who has her."

Shepard and Garrus just shared a look. Takashi gripped his pistols. "Time to pay Fist a visit."

Emily just looked at the two of them and sighed. "Oh dear…"

* * *

***

Emily parked her car around the corner of Chora's Den as Takashi and Garrus got out. "We'll be back in a little while. Just stay and wait for us" Shepard told her.

"You know this makes me an accessory right?" Emily told him. "You owe me big time for all this Takashi."

"When this is all over, I'll take you out to the most expensive restaurant on the citadel for dinner, ok?"

"I'm going to hold you to that. In the mean time, I'll see if I can crack that informant's file. Might lead to some juicy info." Shepard nodded, and moved to walk off. "Hey Takashi" Emily called out. "Be careful."

Shepard just gave her a small smile as he and Garrus moved to the bar.

As they moved to the entrance of the bar, they noted that it looked much the same as Dr Michelle's clinic: shut down.

"I thought this place was open twenty-four seven?"

"It is" Garrus answered grimly. He drew his gun. "Fist knows we're coming."

Takashi drew his own pistols. "Well then, let's not shirk his hospitality." With that they moved to the door and kicked it in. Inside waiting for them had to be fifty armed thugs, ready and waiting.

For a moment, there was silence.

Then all hell broke loose.

* * *

***

For warehouse workers Bob and Dave, it was not a good day. All day, Fist had been own their tails about getting his latest shipments unpacked. That meant working overtime. It also meant that they were currently in the bar when the fighting started.

"You hear that out there?" Bob asked. "It sounds like a warzone."

"Shit yeah" Dave agreed. "Hard to believe it's only two of them."

"Yeah, but there are fifty guys out there, there's no way…" he never got to finish his sentence as a white haired human and a C-Sec turian officer came through the back rooms. They were drenched in blood, but were otherwise unharmed. Bob and Dave shared a look of terror. _Oh shit…_

Both men raised their arms in surrender. "Hey look we're not-" They never got the chance to finish their plea; Takashi and Garrus simply gunned them down where they stood. The two simply continued on as if they weren't even there.

"Fist's private office should be behind this door" Shepard remarked.

"Let's do this quick, we need that quarian alive" Garrus remarked.

In a quick breaching maneuver, they burst into the office with Garrus using his omni-tool to neutralize Fist's two turrets, while Takashi sent Fist hard into a wall with a biotic shove. Just that quick, it was over.

Dressed in an expensive Armani suit, Fist didn't look like your typical low life scumbag crime lord. But lying on the floor, dazed and confused, he looked down right pathetic. Takashi pointed his pistol at him.

"No… Wait… I surrender" Fist managed to get out.

"Tell me where the quarian is, and I won't have to shot you in the kneecaps" Takashi told him.

"I don't know where she is, that's the truth." That was a lie and everyone knew it.

Takashi responded by firing two shots next to Fist's head, and the downed man let out a terrified shriek. "Where is the quarian?" he repeated. "I won't ask you again."

"The quarian isn't here, said she only meet with the Shadow Broker himself" Fist stammered out.

"Impossible" Garrus refuted. "The Shadow Broker only works through his agents."

Fist slowly got to feet. "Nobody meets the Shadow Broker. Ever" he said with more strength in his voice. "Even I don't know his true identity. But she didn't know that. I told her I set a meeting up. But she get's there, it'll be Saren's men waiting for her."

Takashi moved forward and grabbed Fist's collar, pulling him in close. "Give me the location. Now" he said in a low voice.

"It's in the back alley by the Third Side Markets. You can make it if you hurry." Thinking it was over, Fist turned to leave, only to find Takashi's gun to his brow.

"Too many people died here Fist. You don't get to walk away." He pulled the trigger, and what was once Fist's head was now a pile of gore.

* * *

***

"We're too late" Emily cried in dismay.

They had rushed to Emily's car and drove as quick as they dared to get to the meeting place. But when the arrived, all they found was a patch of blood and traces of explosives.

"Your quarian friend got captured" a voice rang out. Takashi and Garrus drew their guns to the sound of the voice, only to find the bounty hunter Wrex standing in the shadows with his arms crossed.

"What do you mean she got captured?" Garrus demanded.

"It was only coincidence that I found out" Wrex answered. "I was on my way to Fist's place when I saw an explosion in this alley. When I went to check it out, I saw a bunch of heavily armed mercs tacking her captive. She put up a fight though" he finished with a smile.

While Garrus and Emily looked dismayed, Takashi got a dark look in his face. "Can you describe the mercs to me?" he asked. When Wrex gave his description, his mood further darkened. "So it is as I was beginning to suspect. Son of a bitch."

"What?" Emily asked. "What's wrong?"

"I know who those mercs work for. And I know where they've probably taken her."

"They work for Saren" Garrus said. "Fist told us that."

"Not these mercs. Not directly at least. It all adds up. The informants turning traitor, me hunting Wrex, why the quarian is running all over the place- it's all due to one man, one who I should have seen through before. But I was to busy focusing on Saren that I couldn't see his lackey right in front of me."

"And who is this lackey?" Wrex asked.

Takashi looked them all in the eyes. "It's the man who asked me to find Wrex, the man who controls the Shadow Broker's network on the Citadel: Barla Von."

* * *

***

AN: Damn, this took a long time to get out. But I hope you enjoy it none the less. So please leave a review; they make my days a little bit brighter.


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